Part worldly troubadour, part down-home Midwesterner, Dan's weathered and conversational voice is warm and resonant, lending a simplicity to his well-crafted lyrics. With an eclectic list of influences, Vaillancourt, with hundreds of songs to his credit, has been compared to such diverse talent as Shawn Mullins, Todd Snider, Paul Simon, and Joe Henry to name a few. He has even been called the Jimi Hendrix of Folk—fitting because he continuously pushes the boundaries of acoustic music, his improvisational prowess contributing to a style he calls Funktified Folk.

Melodic Snapshots, Vaillancourt's critically acclaimed album, was released in late 2005 received radio airplay on over 100 stations. It even landed an extended stay on many station's CMJ AAA charts. Songs from the album were featured on several nationally syndicated radio programs including Acoustic Cafe. Five different songs from Melodic Snapshots were featured on CD compilations totaling over fifteen-thousand copies distributed across the world.

For his newest album, Lovely Distractions, mastered by multiple Grammy award-winning engineer Richard Dodd (Tom Petty, Dixie Chicks, Wilco, and more), Vaillancourt shares the recording and mixing duties with Grammy-nominated producer Ric Hordinski (David Wilcox, Phil Keaggy, Ellery). Vaillancourt assembled the musical talents of family and friends, along with a couple of the best Cincinnati studio musicians, to produce a creative and decidedly unconventional album filled with lovely distractions from everyday life.

Ever prolific, Vaillancourt never seems to sit still. Since writing the newest of the songs included on Lovely Distractions, he has written nearly 200 new songs, many as part of songwriting challenges such as February Album Writing Month and 50 Songs in 90 Days. He continues to teach music, a decade-long pursuit and passion, and, along with other musicians, he runs a week-long rock and roll camp in northern Michigan. Vaillancourt's rich tapestry of experiences: teaching, writing, performing, and traveling, keeps his creativity honed—he always a has new song to write and compelling story to tell.

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 WHAT IS HE REALLY LIKE?
Dan Vaillancourt is a pretty big dork and a pretty simple guy. He gets really excited about things like food, vegetable gardens, good coffee, intriguing conversations, Christopher Moore books, NPR, Coast to Coast AM and great scenery. His normal attire is jeans and a t-shirt that was probably given to him from a festival, venue, musician or something of the like. He hasn't owned a comb in a dozen years or more. He shaves every few weeks. He went to college and graduated with a degree in Cultural Anthropology and World Religion. He is a full-time musician, performing and teaching for over a decade.