Darren Holden

Born in Kilkenny Ireland, Darren is a prolific songwriter with exceptional vocal talents. His early solo career saw him support Boyzone, The Backstreet Boy's, East 17, Paul Young, Bonnie Tyler, Peter Andre, and Belinda Carlisle.

Darren’s first break in to musical theatre came in 1999 when he was cast as the lead vocalist in Rhythm Of The Dance giving 500 performances on tour in Ireland and across Europe. The show featured his him singing his own compositions The Great Hunger. In 2000, his career took him to America where he was cast in Riverdance, becoming lead vocalist in January 2000. He performed over 1500 shows, initially on Broadway before taking the show on a 3 year tour of the US.

As his contract with Riverdance came to an end in 2003, he successfully auditioned as the lead vocalist/pianist in the Tony Award-winning hit Billy Joel/Twyla Tharp musical Movin’ Out. There had been 460 potential ‘Pianomen’ auditioned before him, but Darren was offered the role immediately after his audition, by Billy himself. The show saw him again performing on Broadway, before embarking on an extensive 3 year tour of the US, Canada, and Tokyo. The tour was a major success, breaking all previous box office records in many cities in the first year. Darren was ever present as the lead ‘Pianoman’ on the original US tour from January 2004, until he brought the curtain down on the final show in Birmingham Alabama in January 2007 after an impressive 1300 performances. The show gained him a huge fan base for both his interpretation of the Billy Joel back catalogue, and performing his own music.

He also became a regular face on American Prime Time TV, clocking up more than 500 appearances on CBS, FOX, NBC and ABC. His natural ability in front of the camera charmed both the presenters and the millions of viewers, as he shared his amusing experiences and treated them to his amazing renditions of the Billy Joel classics.

Darren has appeared in concert at The Cutting Room in New York City and the famed Whisky A Go-Go in Los Angeles, performing original songs backed by members of the Movin' Out band. He has also regularly performed at corporate events with "The New York State of Mind" band which features The Billy Joel band with Darren taking the place of the main man on piano and lead vocals. His phenomenal rendition of the US National Anthem made Darren a popular choice for sports events and he has performed the Anthem for an estimated 1.5 million people. In 2004, he was invited to perform for President and Mrs. Bush at the White House Christmas pageant.

Darren has also released 3 solo albums, all in different genres, and had top ten hits in Ireland from his first album Suddenly before he moved in to musical theatre.

While in New York with Riverdance, Darren recorded his second album Live and Learn, a collection of original traditional/contemporary country songs from recording sessions in both New York and Nashville. Released in the US in 2002, the album produced three top 30 airplay hits, with Wherever You Are, hitting the Top 20. This success gained Darren much deserved industry recognition and he was subsequently nominated in the ‘Best Country Male Artist’ category for the 2004 New Music Weekly Awards in Los Angeles.
The latest album Roadworks was released in 2006 having been written and recorded on the road while Darren was performing in Movin’ Out. It has a fine blend of both ballads and rockier songs. The opening track Bad Tattoo was produced by Billy Joel’s guitarist/bandleader Tommy Byrnes. The album also includes Through Hell and High Water, a song Darren wrote with Bryan Steele in dedication to the victims of Hurricane Katrina. Released in November 2005, it became one of the most downloaded songs of the year in the US and gained him much praise for the touching lyrics and heartfelt message, from fans of all ages and backgrounds.

Darren has a very varied taste in music and lists, Elvis Presley, The Beach Boys, The Beatles, Billy Joel, Richard Marx, Jim Steinman, Meatloaf, Bruce Springsteen, and Bryan Adams, as some of the many artists that have influenced his career.

Darren is currently a member of Ireland’s top folk group The High Kings, with two platinum albums in Ireland under his belt. At the invitation of President Obama, he returned to the White House, for the second time in his career, with The High Kings in March 2012. They performed at the official St Patrick’s Day Reception, also attended by the Irish Prime minister Enda Kenny. The group also performed with Young Voices on their 2011/2012 UK Arena tour, where Darren enjoyed the chance to get back to his rockier side during the Queen Medley. The Young Voices tour also included a special charity performance to the Royal Albert Hall.

Performing with the High Kings keeps Darren very busy, but he is constantly looking for opportunities to develop his solo career. He would love to make a return to musical theatre if the opportunity arises and very much misses the buzz of performing for a large audience on the big stage. Whenever he gets the chance, he also continues with his song writing collaborating with a number of song writers keen to work with him and is keen to perform his own music, both in Ireland and overseas in Europe and America.