DAWSON RUTLEDGE:
A RISING MUSICIAN KEEPING IT REAL
W: Monica Huibers P: Wells Photographic Design
In the seeming blink of an eye, Dawson Rutledge has become one of the most talkedabout and popular musicians to come out of Cranbrook, and there is a good chance you have seen him perform if you are even slightly active in the community. He has played an impressive number and variety of venues all over the Kootenays (as well as across Canada), ranging from fundraisers to the recent Kootenay Game Changer Awards Gala to favourite locals hangouts in Cranbrook, Kimberley, and Fernie to art galleries, jam nights, large-capacity theatres, the farmer’s market, and even Sam Steele Days. He has opened for many well-known artists including Fred Penner, Tiller’s Folly, Lion Bear Fox, and Barney Bentall. His musical charm has even crossed the border and garnered him invitations to play at music festivals in the States. When reviewing Dawson Rutledge’s already prolific career as a singer-songwriter, musician, and performer, it is hard to believe that it has been little more than sixteen months since this talented 19-year-old first performed one of his original songs live at Key City Theatre in June 2015 and less than a year since the release of his self-produced, acclaimed first album – Today, Tonight, and Tomorrow, half of which he composed and recorded while still in high school. What’s more is he also spent a good portion of this past summer unable to sing much while he was recovering from complications after a difficult tonsillectomy. While Dawson doesn’t identify his music with any particular genre, his album, which has been described as “folk-alternative,” has received many positive reviews and lots of radio play. He has even made it onto a few top ten lists, reaching as high as #5 on one of them, in country/folk and folk/blues/roots categories. Dawson sang in a choir at age eight and started playing guitar at ten, but it was in his senior year at Mount Baker Secondary that a full-fledged desire to take his music public really took hold. While immersing himself in every band, class, singing, and acting opportunity he could find, he discovered a new direction and focus during a song-writing and composition class taught by award-winning Music Program teacher and mentor, Evan Bueckert. Dawson had such a knack for storytelling and setting his lyrics to music that Mr. Bueckert encouraged him to continue developing and recording new songs. His exceptional musical ability shone through and he was awarded the top male musician scholarship from Mount Baker and a District/Authority Scholarship by the Ministry of Education.