Rob Nicholson
Words By Rob Nicholson
Macclenny’s own Dylan Gerard is “always trying to write his next favorite song.” Drawing on inspiration from artists like Otis Redding, Bonnie Raitt, Willie Nelson and Johnny Cash, and bands including The Eagles and Lynyrd Skynyrd, creating a mix between country and rock and Americana. His first single, “Simple Things,” was very well received in Nashville and reached No. 37 on the MusicRow Country Breakout Chart. Gerard followed that song up with his newest single, released last month, “Young Again.”
It’s no surprise to people who know Gerard that he is a songwriter due to his family. Both of his parents were performers in their younger days. Also, growing up in Macclenny didn’t hurt when it came to enjoying country music.
If you like watching NBC’s “The Voice,” you may already be familiar with Gerard. The singer-songwriter appeared on Season 13 and says that he is thankful for the relationships he built while on the show, as well as the advice he received from both Kelly Clarkson and his coach, Adam Levine. He will always remember his blind audition on the show when his nerves were instantly calmed after two coaches turned their chairs. In addition to his time on “The Voice,” Dylan has many other memories that influenced and motivated his music career. One is singing to his sister while she was in a coma. He was moved by the healing power that music had in his sister’s medical recovery, and this incident propelled him to pursue his career in music.
Today, Dylan resides in Riverside and travels back and forth to Nashville working with his record label SSM Nashville. Dylan stopped by the Folio HQ to play live acoustic versions of “Simple and “Young Again” and debuted a brand new single, “Big World Smaller.” We also talked about how things are blowing up with his career and where his future is going. Learn more about Gerard at dylangerard.com
Watch the full interview with Dylan Gerard here.
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