On a quiet Monday night in February, Bozzini’s Upstairs Lounge will come alive with one of Canada’s most decorated artists and producers, Steve Dawson.
Dawson, accompanied by Jeremy Holmes on the upright bass, will be in town on Feb. 6.
Over the past two decades, Dawson has become such an indelible fixture on the Canadian musical landscape that it’s tempting to take him for granted. The music that flows out of him is so natural and authentic that it’s possible to forget all of the toil that went into producing it.
Behind the seemingly endless stream of award winning musical output (he has produced and/or played on more than 80 albums since the turn of the millennium), is one of the hardest working musicians this country has ever produced. Whether he’s turning heads on the concert circuit with his incendiary playing, or pulling the best possible performances out of the many artists that he works with in the studio, Dawson is always striving to take things to the next level.
A native of Vancouver, Canada, but currently residing in Nashville, where he works as a solo artist, sideman, and record producer, Dawson has forged an impressive career full of highlights and awards, including: seven Juno Awards as artist/producer (18 times nominated), three times named “Producer Of The Year” at Western Canadian Music Awards, three times named “Producer Of The Year” at Canadian Folk Music Awards, and a recipient of many other awards including Maple Blues Awards, Grand Prix De Jazz De Montreal, Blues Blast Awards, and many Western Canadian Music Awards and Canadian Folk Awards as an artist and producer.
He sees production as an exciting step in the creative journey that a song takes from its beginning as a songwriter’s idea to a final recorded product. The producer has to understand the music and be able to know what will open possibilities in it. Being a musician is not essential, but it helps, and Dawson brings enviable chops to his work. He also owns a vast collection of unusual instruments, many of which he plays on the recordings he helps to craft – modern electric instruments find themselves blended in with weissenborns, marxophones, pedal steel, pump organs and other odd antique instruments.
Steve Dawson, with Jeremy Holmes on upright bass, performs Monday, Feb. 6 at Bozzini’s Upstairs Lounge. Doors open at 6 p.m., show at 8 p.m. Tickets $22.50 at Bozzini’s or call 604-792-0744 to reserve.