Dan’s fresh approach to the much-maligned squeeze-box and his mind-boggling repertoire of both original and traditional material will change the mind of the most hardened accordion skeptic. Dan draws influences for songs and tunes from such sources as French Musette, Gypsy Swing, Cajun, Jug band, Tex-Mex and Cumbia. He calls this global gumbo “ethnoclectic” music. Daddy Squeeze entertains and enlightens his audiences with stories and colorful anecdotes about the accordion and his experiences while making a living playing the instrument he loves. Dan “Daddy Squeeze” Newton has been dazzling audiences with his vast repertoire and creative accordion style for over 30 years. He is a talented composer/arranger who has produced over 25 recordings. Dan has appeared at dozens of festivals across the USA and also in Finland, Canada and Austria. He has performed at Lincoln Center in New York City, Kennedy Center in Washington D.C., The Winnipeg Folk Festival and is a frequent guest on Garrison Keillor’s A Prairie Home Companion. Dan spends most of his time in Minneapolis playing accordion with his group Café Accordion Orchestra performing vintage Swing, Latin, American, and French Café music.
Dan will be joined on some of the numbers by percussionist Elizabeth Rowan.
“It’s hard to imagine a bad time with Daddy Squeeze (a.k.a. Dan Newton) in the house!” – Mpls Tribune
“Excellent! His singing is just right. A top notch accordionist.”– R. Crumb, cartoonist and musician
“A real two-fisted accordion player!” – Canray Fontenot, Creole musician
“I’d pay money to hear this!” – Joey “the Cow-Polka King” Miskulen, Riders in the Sky
“Your accordion playing is wonderful. Good song-writing, too.”– Carl Finch, Brave Combo
