INTERVIEW: Devin Dawson Talks Pushing Genre Boundaries

A few years ago, a video mashing up Taylor Swift's "Blank Space" and "Style" went absolutely viral. The video was from two singer/songwriters -- one of them being budding country artist Devin Dawson. The 28-year-old, originally from Orangevale, California released his debut single "All On Me" in February 2017, and since then, has been out on the road with Maren Morris on her "Hero Tour."

Devin's music is unique to the country genre, and he's influenced by many different types of music. Having played in and toured with metal band Shadow of Colossus after high school, he tells us that is "kind of like a foundation for influencing the music that [he] makes." However, he also grew up listening to country, soul, and R&B, which has also had an impact on him. 

We recently caught up with Devin in Nashville at the Country Music Hall of Fame, and during an exclusive interview, he talked about his songwriting, what brought him to Nashville, and pushing the boundaries with his music.

[Buy "All On Me" on iTunes]

Moving to Nashville & Songwriting

After traveling and touring with his metal band after high school, Devin says that "there's only one place like Nashville." So, in 2012, he moved to Music City, USA, and decided to plant his roots there. What really drew him to the city was its songwriting community. "When I came here, I honestly just came here to pursue writing for other people. I think I needed a little bit of a breath from being gone 300 days out of the year and slum touring, and sleeping in a van and all that stuff -- which I wouldn't trade for the world. But being [in Nashville], and allowing myself to be stationary, and staying in one spot and write, really allowed me to find out who I was."

Devin loves words, and his songs have "an underlying theme of honestly." He adds, "I'm really such a word guy, so lyrics are really important to me. I think that's why I resonate so well with country music in this town, and the songwriting here. All of those put together make them awesome."

Putting Together his Debut Album & Pushing the Boundaries

Devin released "All On Me" back in February, but has also been hard at work on his debut full-length album, which he's been writing for over the last few years. He says, "It's just time. You can't rush that." The singer/songwriter has been in the studio with producer Jay Joyce (Eric Church, Little Big Town, Brothers Osborne). Devin says of working with Jay, "He pulled things out of me, once we got the songs together, that I never knew I even had. And he stitched everything really well together, even though all the songs, each one stands alone on its own, they all have this really common thread because of his voice and his ear on it."

All of this inspiration and support in the studio really impacted Devin's songwriting, and was able to break through any barriers. "My first single is called 'All on Me.' When I wrote that, I knew that was the sound that I wanted to go for. It had the lyrics that I wanted to say, it had the melodies that I wanted to sing, and it's still a country groove, but it really incorporated everything that I loved, and that I believe in. Through that, I started pushing the boundaries a little bit and just seeing what I could resonate with, and what I wanted to get away with, and what would really mean 'Devin Dawson,' as weird as that sounds, coming from my mouth."

Having just toured with Maren Morris, Devin isn't slowing down anytime soon. As he prepares to drop his album, he's hitting the road with Tim McGraw and Faith Hill on their "Soul2Soul" world tour. Details HERE.