Mike Dawes

Michael Kenneth James Dawes (born 21 July 1989) is an English fingerstyle guitar player known for composing, arranging, and performing multiple parts simultaneously on the guitar. As of 2025, he has released four studio albums, one live record, one EP, and numerous singles.

Career Dawes experimented with keyboards before picking up his first electric guitar, at age twelve. He switched to steel-string acoustic guitar in 2008.

From late 2008 to late 2011, Dawes performed instrumental concerts at venues and festivals throughout the United Kingdom, both solo and with a concert harp player. During this time, he performed alongside musicians including Seth Lakeman, Tommy Emmanuel, and Newton Faulkner. In 2009, he released an independent EP titled Reflections as well as gaining features on two discs in the Acoustic Guitar Forum franchise.

In 2012, Dawes signed with Wisconsin-based CandyRat Records. He released a technically virtuosic arrangement of "Somebody That I Used to Know" by Gotye on 19 June.

Dawes' next release was another Candyrat single, this time dual-released with an independent collaborative remix featuring Helsinki-based guitarist Petteri Sariola and Adam "Nolly" Getgood from the American band Periphery. Ten per cent of the proceeds of all independent releases went to FAB Projects, a Kenyan charity providing food, aid, and building projects in the region. His What Just Happened? world tour visited over thirty countries on five continents, including performances on the Great Wall of China and the Troubadour in Los Angeles, as well as the first fingerstyle guitar concert in Lebanon's history.

2016 saw Dawes become the first acoustic artist signed by DiMarzio, sharing a roster with the likes of John Petrucci, Steve Vai, and Joe Satriani, as he co-designed the Black Angel magnetic soundhole pickup with Larry Dimarzio and Nick Benjamin. He began a monthly video and print column with Guitar World in the US and taught as a special guest mentor on season 2 of Sky TV's Guitar Star.

ERA, his second album, was released independently on Dawes' own QTEN Records imprint (King Records in Japan, C&L Music in South Korea) in September 2017. The lead single, a one-man cover of Metallica's "One", gained around forty million clicks in its first fortnight online through Metal Hammer, Viral Thread, and Dawes' own YouTube channel. The single also got the attention of the progressive metal community worldwide, a fanbase often present at Dawes' concerts. He was also featured on AMC's Better Call Saul, playing percussion and additional guitar on "Cold Feet", a song created in a session with Fink.

The 2018 Moody Blues Cruise saw Dawes share the stage with Cathy Richardson of Jefferson Starship while opening for the Orchestra featuring members of ELO.

In addition to playing as a solo artist, Dawes also plays guitar in the synth-pop group Nik Mystery, together with Spencer Sotelo (Periphery) and Jukka Backlund.

Influences and gear Dawes is heavily influenced by folk, pop, and rock music as well as other fingerstyle players such as Michael Hedges, Pierre Bensusan, He uses #100 and #138 Benjamin guitars. He also uses D'Addario strings, DiMarzio pickups, and the Tonewoodamp device.

Tuition Dawes has produced numerous tuition aids for guitarists looking to learn his style of playing. These include four iOS tuition apps for Apple devices, regular workshops, guitar tabs, and magazine columns for Acoustic magazine and Guitar World.

Awards Late 2017 saw Dawes named as the Best Acoustic Guitarist in the World Right Now by MusicRadar and Total Guitars end-of-year poll. He won the title again in 2018.

Discography

Studio albums Solo Title Album details What Just Happened? Released: 9 April 2013 Label: CandyRat Format: digital download Era Released: 15 September 2017 Label: Qten Format: digital download, streaming Galactic Acid Released: 9 August 2024 Format: digital download

Collaborations Title Album details Accomplice Series, Vol. 3 Released: 23 September 2022 Label: CGP Sounds Format: Digital download, streaming

Live albums Title Album details Shows and Distancing: Live in the USA Released: 23 October 2020 Label: Qten Format: Digital download, streaming

EPs Title Details Reflections Released: 1 January 2009 Label: Self-released Format: Digital download

Singles Title Year Album "Somebody That I Used To Know" 2012 What Just Happened? "The Impossible" "The Impossible 2.0" 2014 "William Shatner's Pants" 2020 "Somebody That I Used to Know (Live)" Shows and Distancing: Live in the USA "Ecomium" (Live)" "Slow Dancing in a Burning Room (Live)" "Boogie Shred (Live)" "The Impossible (Live)" "One (Live)" "Jump" "Push" /"Push (Solo Version)" Push "Somebody That I Used to Know" 2021 Accomplice Series, Vol. 3 "Smells Like Teen Spirit" "Fields of Gold" "Until I Found You" 2023 "Hallelujah

Other appearances TitleYearCredited artist(s)Album "The Impossible" 2008 Mike Dawes Acoustic Guitar Forum No. 2 "Clocks" 2010 Mike Dawes Acoustic Guitar Forum No. 3 "Scotch Pancake" Mike Dawes Acoustic Guitar Forum No. 4 Full album 2016 Mike Dawes Live in Concert at the Capitol Theatre "Melancholia" 2017 Flux Conduct Yetzer Hara "Boogie Slam" 2019 Mike Dawes Acoustic Guitar Forum No. 5 "It's Only Smiles Acoustic" 2024 Periphery 2 Song Acoustic Single "Scarlet Acoustic"