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Steve Dawson was raised in small town Idaho, a music lover from the very beginning. While still in grade school he began to obsess over his dad's record collection, listening, singing along, and staring at the Lp jackets. His father, a wildlife illustrator, had everything from southern soul to classic rock, folk to jazz, and Dawson soaked it all in. Country music was the soundtrack of life outside the house and on the town's only radio station. When he was 12, Dawson took guitar lessons from one of Idaho’s mountain fiddle champions and started writing songs. Later he taught himself to play piano by picking out notes on the family upright. His first gig was at the Silver Dollar Saloon in Bellevue, ID, playing guitar with Cadillac Carl and the Road Rangers.Dawson moved to Chicago after attending Berklee School of Music in Boston. A friend told him Chicago's music scene was bearing fruit and provided musicians good opportunities to play. Upon his arrival he met Diane Christiansen, and they formed Stump the Host, a country rock band that eventually morphed into Dolly Varden. In 1996 Dolly Varden released the first of four albums that would reflect both the hook-ready depth of Dawson's songwriting and the dynamic collaboration of all five players. Critics from Rolling Stone, Uncut, and the Village Voice, among others, have praised Dawson's gift for melodic, evocative songwriting and the group's soulful vocal harmonies.In 2005 recorded his debut solo album, Sweet Is The Anchor, in his home stuido. Critics noted Dawson's soulful singing, particularly on the single, “Love Is A Blessingâ€, a nod to the 1970’s Hi Records / Memphis soul sound of Al Green and Willie Mitchell. Dawson toured the US and the UK both solo and with some of Chicago’s most talented musicians: Frank Rosaly, Jason Adasiewicz, Joel Paterson, Jason Roebke, and Casey McDonough.Dawson is currently recording the follow-up to ‘Sweet Is The Anchor’, due in early 2009.He also teaches songwriting and guitar classes at the Old Town School of Folk Music in Chicago and works as an independent producer for up-and-coming singer-songwriters. ************************************************************ ************ Awards: Outstanding Achievement in Songwriting Award, Great American Song contest Regional winner / international finalist, Mountain Stage New Song contest ************************************************************ ************ REVIEWS FOR ‘SWEET IS THE ANCHOR’ ************************************************************ ************ NO DEPRESSION MAGAZINE The stripped-down approach of “Sweet Is The Anchor†calls all the more attention to the songs, and the songs are superb, from the self-laceration of “I’m The One I Despiseâ€, combining a lyric that bites like Elvis Costello’s with a guitar that weeps like George Harrison’s, to the soulful affirmations of “I’ll Be Right Hereâ€, to the Zen lullaby of “The Monkey Mind Is On The Prowlâ€â€¦the melodic lilt, the bittersweet yearning, the occasional under-pinnings of ‘60s soul, and the seductive catchiness insinuates itself within the listener’s ear and quickly takes full command of his brain waves. ************************************************************ ************ PERFORMING SONGWRITING MAGAZINE (Top DIY pick) Steve Dawson, better known as the frontman for the Chicago-based group Dolly Varden, is letting his soul shine in his latest solo release. The title track sees Dawson’s voice expertly navigating soaring heights as guitars and tambourines jangle listeners back to the 60’s. “Love is a Blessing†features a moody organ and a vibe that’s straight-up Marvin Gaye. Dawson has found the sweet spot between R&B and California pop, and the compelling combination will invite another listen, and another†************************************************************ ************ AMERICANA UK “Steve Dawson is the singer and writer for Chicago-based Dolly Varden, who not only produced some of the finest music of the last decade, but managed the rare feat of getting better with each of their four albums. Driven by Dawson’s passionate and intensely soulful voice, allied to the dark poetry of his songs, they were and remain a joy both live and on album. The band are currently on an extended break, so Dawson has taken the opportunity to make his first solo record, and it feels like the record that he’s been striving towards all these years. It’s a soul album, a soul singer’s album par excellence, just oozing the stuff from every word, every note, every nuance. Dawson’s sublime vocals are absolutely glorious, whether letting it all hang out on “Love is a Blessing†(a song and performance worthy of Al Green at his finest) or subtlely sexual on the title track. He aches, he howls and he whispers with a grace and passion that cannot be denied. The country-folk- pop of Dolly Varden is still in evidence - wife and DV member Diane Christiansen contributes backing vocals on a couple of tracks – and the songs still have the edge and darkness that characterises his writing, notably on “I’m the one I despise†and the title track, but ultimately it’s the singing that this album is about. It’s music you can lose yourself in, as you luxuriate in the gorgeous vocals and bask in the arrangements. It’s a tired cliché to review an album in January and describe it as an album of the year contender, but nonetheless it’s hard to imagine that there will be a better singer’s album this year.†************************************************************ ************ ST LOUIS RIVERFRONT TIMES Between the lines of Steve Dawson's Sweet Is the Anchor, there's a riot going on -- albeit a contemplative one, impelled by the neo-country soul a man must make if he's stranded on a floodplain with Al Green's The Belle Album and a short-wave radio picking up news of another airstrike. On Anchor, his first solo album, Dawson breaks down politics with the eloquence of Jeremiah, turns his ire on himself, and lets vibes and violins sing every homesick soul back home again. ************************************************************ ************ CHICAGO DAILY HERALD “...sublime vocals that break with anguish, murmur in isolation, and can suddenly break out and summon rigorous heights, Sweet Is The Anchor is a vocalist’s album awash in the languor of country music and the Saturday night highs of soul. The obvious touchstone is the early 70s when rock cross-pollinated with country on the West Coast, Al Green was cutting his best work in Memphis, and Van Morrison soaked up both sides of the aisle on albums that belted blue-eyed soul in the context of folk music and jazz.†- ************************************************************ ************ THE CHICAGO READER “Dawson’s casually masterful style is apparent on “Love Is A Blessing,†a standout track from his solo debut, Sweet Is The Anchor. The song’s a gorgeous Al Green-style ballad that’s steeped in the old Hi Records sound--washes of strings, fatback bass drum, and subtly funky guitar lines--but its the purity of the singing, not the arrangements, that makes me think of Anchor as a soul album†************************************************************ ************ CHICAGO SUN-TIMES “Steve Dawson’s graceful, poetic pop songs are akin to a volume of great short stories in their precise, exacting wordplay and soulful heartache." ************************************************************ ************ TIME OUT CHICAGO “In Dawson’s music it’s all about the emotion, not the artiface. He doesn’t try to adopt a fake twang, or an even faker ‘soul man’ voice on his most recent album, Sweet Is The Anchor. In Dawson’s world, old-school soul and country mix as well as meat and potatoes. †************************************************************ ************ SONGS: ILLINOIS "Steve Dawson has made an exquisite blue-eyed soul record. The warmth and soul that oozes from the digital bits encoded on this cd keep me returning to it over and over again" ************************************************************ ************ CLICK HERE TO BUY SWEET IS THE ANCHOR FROM ITUNES or buy from the Undertow online store