ABOUT

After a 20-year hiatus from songwriting and composing, the creative energy began flowing again in Peter Dolan’s soul. A combination of events like his mother’s passing, his nuptials, and the state of social turmoil in the world inspired a new wave of creative forces to build up in desperate need of expression. The result is a bright, decisive, and hopeful body of work — guitar-driven Classic Rock, in the lineage of Cream, The Doors, The Rolling Stones, The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Fleetwood Mac, Boston, Queen, and Journey, delivered with the kind of bold, confident optimism that invites the listener along for the ride.

Peter’s original songwriting spark burned brightly from age 15-22. His first songwriting inspiration came from Pearl Jam, Stone Temple Pilots, The Beatles, Cream, and Jimi Hendrix, and his rock band in high school shared a similar aesthetic. In college, he studied classical and jazz guitar, expanding his horizons, which led to him composing and performing original music in the Chicago black box theater scene for several years. In his mid-twenties, his interests pivoted away from music to filmmaking and video production as a different passion and career, though he did compose and score the music for all his original film work.

Peter’s wedding in 2017 inspired him to finish one of his older, lyric-less songs with an adaptation of his wedding vows. This became the first single, “Turn Towards,” a heartfelt, hopeful track that leans into the Folk Rock side of his sound, echoing Bob Dylan, Fleet Foxes, and The Decemberists. While recording this track, he began writing new material from scratch again. The George Floyd protests alongside other major social justice events, as well as the birth of his daughter in 2020 during the height of the pandemic, became major factors in Peter’s growing desire to write about what he’s feeling.

Across the catalog, that feeling runs in two directions. Most of the material — tracks like “Face Together,” “Need You to Know,” and “Missing Expectations” — is unapologetically bright and empowering: songs about strength, freedom, destiny, and the open road, built for sunshine and forward motion. But threaded through the same sessions are quieter, more reflective moments — “Still Your Only One” and “The Sun Comes Out at Night” carry a wistful, longing undertone, proof that the same classic-rock foundation can hold both the triumphant and the tender.

Under the banner “Circle of 3rds,” each new release represents a different collaboration with many talented artists, with whom Peter wishes to share the credit. Working with such incredible musicians has helped expand the scope of the material, as well as Peter’s burning fire and passion for making music.