Everything from edgy blues and folk rock to evocative ballads and sensitive love songs. Killer harmonica playing punctuates most songs.

18 MP3 Songs
COUNTRY: Country Folk, FOLK: Folk Blues



Details:
Jon Dakota is a songwriter who observes, reflects and comments about the experiences he sees in his life and around himself, in our sometimes absurd culture, and this often crazy world.

He has been described as an idiosyncratic troubadour in the genres of Prine, Guthrie, Williams, Kristofferson and early Dylan. Jon Dakota's new CD just released, Learning to Fly, reflects his diverse styles and runs the gamut from blues and love songs to poignant stories and political commentary.

Jon Dakota first performed at age 16, playing a "plywood" Stella acoustic guitar and singing such covers as Everly Brothers' "Wake Up Little Susie" and Elvis Presley's "Jailhouse Rock". In high school he had a rock & roll band which cut an album with RCA custom division. After college he took a 30-year "vacation" during which time he had two wives, four kids and a dozen jobs. Since resuming his career recently, he has played in venues in Colorado, California, Nashville, Texas, New York City, Boston, England and others.

He developed the songs for his current CD based on observations, reflections, thoughts and feelings about himself and others. In particular he writes stories based on the experiences of friends and acquaintances with whom he empathizes, experiences which he sees variously as uplifting, edifying, transcendent, tragic, bittersweet and/or poignant.

Jon Dakota's plans include a European tour this fall and another CD before the end of the year.

He says:

"I write about what I see, hear, experience, empathize with, wonder about and makes me crazy."

"I pay attention to and write about what's going on, what's honest, what's uplifting and what's depressing about my life and the lives of those around me."