PRESS QUOTES/REVIEWS
-Drawing comparisons to traditional country legends such as George Strait and Daryle Singletary, Dan Lepien delivers with Pure country music and is set to draw national attention. -Ellary Prentice, Sauk Rapids Journalist
SAVING COUNTRY MUSIC'S REVIEW OF FULL-LENGTH ALBUM "THE HONKY TONK TRADITIONAL"
"Oh bless this guy’s heart. He thinks it’s still 1990 and you can release a country record without any snap tracks, trap beats, tractor rapping, Auto-tune, or other wiggety wah wah and still get people to go wild over it. Doesn’t he know that steel guitar and fiddle are passé and tired, and a song isn’t done until it’s been passed around between seven different writers on a zoom call?
Apparently, Dan Lepien is perfectly unaware of all of these requisites for modern country, and also thinks that classic ol’ country song themes can still pass the muster with present-day audiences. And he’s proudly from Wisconsin? That won’t fly for a country music origin story, nor will a name like “Dan Lepien.” He should change it to Chase Steelsaddle, or something. That’s got a ring to it.
But plain ol’ Dan Lepien from Sauk City, WI doesn’t seem too interested in any of these concerns about him or his music. Instead he’s focused on what true country should sound like, and trying to keep those traditions alive. So with ten original tunes and a voice born to sing traditional country, he presents The Honky Tonk Traditional.
Don’t expect anything too fancy, and most definitely don’t expect anything unexpected to come flying out of left field like a drum loop breakdown or a hip-hop collaboration. In fact, the opening song “Country Proud” is all about Lepien’s unabashed allegiance to country music.
The subject of country music itself comes into play regularly on the album, from finding solace in the old classics on “Jukebox My Troubles Away,” to perhaps the best-written and most poignant song on the album, “I Killed Country Music”—and don’t get worried by the title. The lyrical hook comes with a great plot twist.
But to emulate great country music, you can’t just pay homage, you have to contribute your own. “Neon Dream” is a fun little honky tonk tune, while Dan Lepien tries his hand with the old country tradition of weaving words back on themselves in the song “She’s Gone For Good (And I’ll Be Good When I’m Gone).”
The greatest thing about the album is also the one thing you can bring up as a concern. It’s so straight ahead traditional country, it doesn’t exactly present anything entirely unique or novel, even if the songwriting is original enough, and the instrumentation/production is spot on. But that’s when you get when your top priority is preserving tradition.
To support the album, Dan Lepien is embarking on a 12-city tour … of Wisconsin. Well, and one date in Illinois. And if you don’t think you can be country while being based in Wisconsin, Dan Lepien is here to prove you wrong, just like he proves how like a good pair of jeans or cowboy boots, true country music never goes out of style.
I want royalties if he changes his name to Chase Steelsaddle though.
1 3/4 Guns Up (8/10)" -Trigger, Saving Country Music
10 Top Milwaukee Albums for October to hear in 2023.
"Evidently a savvy marketer along with a superb country singer-songwriter, Lepien tapped into Wisconsin's Kwik Trip pride with "God Bless Kwik Trip," his twangy ode to the gas station's "6 pack of dunkers, Angus cheeseburgers, Sweet Karuba Coffee" and other delicacies. It turned heads, sure, but it's clear that Lepien's love is pure, and four other classic-country-style songs on this EP show he needs no gimmicks to make a mighty impression.." -Piet Levy, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Breaking and Entering MKE on "For You I Can" Single. July 2022.
"True to core country values, Dan Lepien returned with a new single, “For You I Can.” The solemn-sounding track is rooted in taking pride for hard work and being humble. Lepien sings about his parents’ influence on his life, and that he can channel that into loving his significant other. He also sings about what makes him a man, and values to stand up on. The production is top-notch here, with crisp vocals and an earnest delivery. While there aren’t many original country acts making waves locally, Dan Lepien is looking to change that." -Breaking and Entering MKE
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's Piet Leavy's Top 11 Shows to see at the 2021 Wisconsin State Fair. July 2021.
"Chris Young's headlining the Main Stage on Aug. 6, and no doubt he'll put on a slick country rock show. But I implore Young fans to check out the Sauk City-born Lepien. He doesn't make the kind of glossy, lightweight songs in heavy rotation on country radio, but they've got a lot more heart and wit than a fair amount of songs coming out of Music Row these days. Aug. 6 will also double as the release show for Lepien's new album "A Country Mile." And if you can't see him on the 6th (or want to see him again) he'll also play the fair on Aug 9, 11, and 12." -Piet Leavy's 11 top shows to see at the 2021 Wisconsin State Fair in Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Shepherd Express on "A Country Mile" EP. August 2021.
The cowboy hatted Milwaukee singer effectively evokes much of the best of the 1970s-‘90s. A Country Mile offers a half-dozen dips into deeply twangy pedal steel guitar and sympathetically sawing fiddle, setting off Lepien's amiable vocals. He delivers what could well be described as a Midwestern drawl. Lepien comes off as a loyal, industrious salt of the earth everyman with a soft spot for sinking a baited hook into some water to see what fish bite.
A Country Mile establishes Lepien as a go-to guy for country lovers who fondly recall the heydays of Tracy Byrd and Mark Chesnutt but leavened with a bit of Roger Miller and Brad Paisley’s wit. Listeners who appreciate newer artists with older fashioned grit about them, like Jon Pardi and Jordan Davis, should also make room for Lepien on their playlists. Until he ponies up more of his wholesome goodness into a lengthier package, A Country Mile goes a long way toward establishing Lepien as a talent deserving wider recognition. -Jamie Lee Rake, Shepherd Express
SUPPORTING Radio stations
