Dale Willis

Dale Willis began playing guitar at the age of 7 when his father showed him D, G and A7 then taught him his first tune 'Home Among theGum Trees'. This later led on to performing with his dad, Gerry Willis and John French who played shows in the southern NSW region of Australia as the popular country duo 'Timbuck Two'. During his secondary schooling, he performed with school bands for a number of years as lead guitarist, and was a featured performer at the Billabong High School Variety Concert in 1994 playing 'Stevies Blues' to a backing track he had composed on the family's Yamaha keyboard. Aside from jamming with garage-bands and playing with his dad, Dale joined his first band - 'Country Party'- at age 16. He played lead guitar in festivals and clubs for this country/rock outfit for about a year. Currently, aside from producing and teaching, Dale is focusing on composing original material and performing his unique style of Acoustic Fingerstyle Guitar at venues around Australia. He has shared the stage with the likes of Ross Wilson (Daddy Cool/Mondo Rock), Richard Clapton, Gina Jefferies, Rod McCormick and Kamahl. 2004 saw Dale raise the bar, being named the 2004 Australian Fingerstyle Champion. Later that same year he took out the USA Songwriting Competition (Instrumental Category) - only the second Australian to do so. He was also named runner-up in the International Acoustic Music Awards shortly after. He plans on releasing his first full album in 2006.