David Starr Signs With Quarto Valley Records For Blues Album Release
“Must Be Blue” Slated To Drop In 2025
NASHVILLE, TN October 30, 2024…GRAMMY®-winning record label Quarto Valley Records announces their latest signing, Colorado-based Blues/Americana artist David Starr for his highly anticipated Blues album Must Be Blue. Starr showcases his soulful vocals, gritty guitar work, sharpened songwriting craft, and inventive takes on classic covers, culminating in a fresh yet timeless album primed for the charts.
Raised in Fayetteville, AR, his early musical education was spent playing drums in clubs at 14 and learning firsthand the power of a 12-bar phrase. Surrounded by great guitar players, he built a strong bedrock of rock and blues, playing with a variety of bands and opening his own guitar store, Starr’s Guitars, in Little Rock. After a pivotal time spent in Aspen, he decided to relocate to Colorado, where the acoustic guitar became a vital songwriting tool. Since then, Starr has become a mainstay in the Americana genre and beyond, working with artists such as John Oates, Steve Cropper, John McEuen, Jim Lauderdale, Wild Ponies, Irene Kelley, and Dana Cooper. Although his lyrics and finger-picking styles leaned more folk, Starr couldn’t shake his blues foundation and inevitably ended up with a song or two on each record that called back to his roots.
After those songs consistently landed on Spotify’s “Got Blues” playlist and garnered rave reviews, the idea of Must Be Blue was born. “Maybe it has to do with the timeless themes of love and loss, struggle and strife, the loud electrics, the way people can't help but tap their feet when they hear it. Whatever the reason, playing blues-influenced songs always centers me in a way that no other music does. This album is my version of a blues record, what you might call "Bluesicana" - the grooves and electrics are there, but so is a mandolin. I am excited and honored to have found a home at Quarto Valley Records to properly introduce it to the world,” Starr shares.
“We’re delighted to welcome David Starr to the Quarto Valley Records family,” said Bruce Quarto, CEO of Quarto Valley Records. “David’s artistry and dedication to his craft resonate deeply with the authentic voices in music that QVR strives to promote. We’re very much looking forward to working together to take his music to a broader audience.”
Must Be Blue is slated for release in 2025, with the first single, “Hole In The Page”, dropping on January 24th.
To learn more about David Starr please visit: www.DavidStarrMusic.com
ABOUT QUARTO VALLEY RECORDS
Founded by tech entrepreneur Bruce Quarto, the California-based independent label, Quarto Valley Records, represents Rock, Blues, Jazz and Americana genres with an impressive artist roster featuring legacy musicians Paul Rodgers, GRAMMY® award-winning Edgar Winter, Savoy Brown as well as the legendary talent that comprises The Immediate Family, GRAMMY® award-winning producer and renowned drummer and songwriter Tom Hambridge, GRAMMY® award-winning producer and percussionist Narada Michael Walden, blues-rock artist Sean Chambers, British blues sensation Bonham-Bullick, Wings member Denny Seiwell, acclaimed Americana singer-songwriter Al Staehely, the esteemed and soulful Richard T. Bear, and emerging artist Dominic Quarto. https://www.quartovalleyrecords.com
ABOUT DAVID STARR
David Starr is a Colorado-based, Blues and Americana singer/songwriter with over 11 albums to his credit. The Arkansas native has honed his decades-long career touring internationally, sharing the stage and collaborating with esteemed artists such as John Oates (Hall & Oates), John McEuen, Steve Cropper, Jim Lauderdale, and Wild Ponies as well as opening for acts like America, Karla Bonoff, Jim Messina, Survivor, and more. He has been a showcasing artist at Folk Alliance International, Americana Fest, and Southwest Regional Folk Alliance. In 2024 he melded his blues background of growing up playing electric guitar in Southern Arkansas clubs with his time spent in Nashville exploring Americana and Folk. What he arrived at was his own brand of “Bluesicana” - a melding of the two genres for his highly anticipated project Must Be Blue. After receiving rave reviews and recognition on previous singles from editorial playlists on Spotify such as “Got Blues”, it was clear he was striking a nerve. GRAMMY-winning label Quarto Valley Records agreed and signed Starr to a record deal for the album, releasing in 2025. He is a member of the Blues Foundation, The Colorado Blues Society, and the Pikes Peak Blues Society. Starr’s prestige extends beyond the stage, having launched Starr’s Guitars in Little Rock, before relocating to Cedaredge, CO in 2001, where it is now a beloved institution. Starr is also a founding member of the board for the Grand Mesa Arts & Events Center in Cedaredge, an intimate event space aimed at attracting musicians and visual artists to Colorado’s Western Slope. In 2024, he produced the sold-out inaugural Grand Mesa Songwriter Festival, which brought 15 songwriters to Cedaredge to perform over 50 shows across five venues. For information on new music and upcoming tour dates, please visit www.DavidStarrMusic.com.