New Yorker Max ZT, aka the ‘Jimi Hendrix of the hammered dulcimer’ (NPR), and much-loved Black Country tunesmith Dan Whitehouse will reunite for the third time in June 2025, touring their exquisite, critically-acclaimed album Ten Steps to ten venues across the UK.
This dreamy collab fuses virtuosic instrumental mastery with soulful song and spoken word, drawing on Dan’s experiences living in Tokyo, Japan, which alongside Max’s deft touch, makes for a captivating, boundary-pushing live experience.
Grammy-nominated Max ZT’s groundbreaking compositional style takes cues from an array of influences, from his training with the Cissokho griot family in Senegal and santoor master Pandit Shivkumar Sharma in India, to his deep love of Irish folk.
“Our album and our show incorporate elements of improvisation, because we are trying to live in the now as much as possible,” says Max. “Musically speaking, that’s enlightenment. That’s the real deal,”
Dan’s mellifluous vocal and “subtle, delicate melodies” (Sunday Times) deliver lyrics inspired by themes of fatherhood, his life in Japan, golf swings as a metaphor for life and the bungled US withdrawal from Afghanistan. His carefully wrought, sometimes improvised words, plus Max’s playing, elevate audiences to new musical planes.
“Ten Steps is about tapping into the mood of the present moment, going with the flow,” says Dan. “After four years of playing together, we’re more fluid and in-sync than ever.”
The pair first met online during Covid (Max was in Brooklyn, and Dan was stranded in Japan) through the international folk music project Global Music Match. ”Like online dating for musicians,” jokes Dan. “It was interesting how effortless our songwriting collaboration was, from the start.”
Each and every live performance is a singular, unrepeatable moment of connection – as much about living in the moment as it is about musical craftsmanship.
Alongside Ten Steps, Max and Dan also bring pieces from their solo repertoires.
They are playing: Friday 20th June, Waterside Arts Centre, 1 Waterside, Sale, M33 7ZF. Doors; 19:30 Tickets: £16.00. Box Office: 0161 912 5616. [email protected]
