The Story
Douglas P. Murphy
He has 25+ years playing guitar and lots of other instruments. He's written hundreds of songs, playing across the country during his career. A guitar player from Texas, he has sat in with touring bands during an emergency , been hired for tours, been paid for session work, and has recorded multiple full LP albums. He has played with geniuses, idiots, and everyone in between. His goal is to have fun, share the emotional content of his songs, and connect with his listeners on that level.
From the Biggest Room to the Smallest
Douglas P. Murphy has been playing music longer than most people have been paying attention. Over 25 years on the road — from arenas to dive bars, from festival stages to empty bars — he's written a cadre of emotional, evocative and strong hook-filled choruses based on real life, love found and lost. He's built a catalog of songs that sound like America at its most honest.
He's the guy who played for 15,000 people on a Saturday and showed up Monday to play for the bartender and the barback. Not because he had to. Because that's where the music lives.
His songs sit in the space between blues, Americana, and roots rock — road-worn, real, and built to last. He writes about the things people don't say out loud: loss, love, leaving, and the stubborn decision to keep going anyway.
Based in New York City, Douglas has been hired a sideman for national tours, for recording sessions because he has a knack for picking up songs quickly and making up cool parts... he stays clean and doesn't smell, isn't a jerk, shows up early and sober, and keeps his mouth shut, and doesn't tell the bandleader what to play. He also has his own band, available for hire, contact us to book solo shows, duo acoustic intimate sets, of a full rock and roll band.
I play for the bartender and the barback the same way I play for 15,000 people. The song doesn't know the difference.— Douglas P. Murphy
Want to hire Douglas and his band to perform? Interested in buying a song and recording it? Need a guitar player for an emergency gig/show? Need a guitar player for a whole tour who doesn't cause problems, stays quiet, clean / odor-free and is fun to be with on the bus for hours on end. Most importantly, he never tells the songwriter what to change without being asked. He's a pro. Contact him!
Reach out about bookings, licensing, or just to say hello.