Beau Dalton

Who is Beau Dalton? He’s the musician that is writing about your life experience right now, and you probably don’t even know it.
For those that like classification, Beau Dalton is a country blues artist who pens songs about love, life, frustration, and uncertainty in America. He can break out with an Americana ditty with the best of them (see Westbound), and he can break your heart while he’s at it.
Beau’s lyrics make him an immediately accessible artist. His songs play out like a intimate conversation you might have with him at the corner bar over a few pints. Here is an artist taking chances. The artist does not proclaim to have the answers, and I – for one – am grateful. In a world full of self-help musicians who are begging to tell me how to live, Beau revels in whispering in my ear, “hey man, I don’t have the answers, either.” Listen to “Don’t Know Who I Am.” Beau lists the characteristics he’s quite sure are not applicable to him. What he’s not quite sure of are the remaining characteristics that do apply. It’s as if he’s learning who he is by process of elimination. Sounds like life to me. Sounds like something I can relate to. Also, it sounds pretty damn good.
Speaking of the sound – again, it’s so accessible and natural. The sound of acoustic guitars, steel strings, fiddles. Arrangements that maximize the impact of each instrument. Beau works on an acoustic guitar because that’s the guitar that’s going to best communicate the impact and emotion behind the song. It’s top-rate musicianship.
So go see Beau Dalton if you can, you lucky bastards. Pick up his album while you’re at it. Remember, only a select few win the lottery; the rest of us keep playing our numbers, punching the time clock, embrace the limited moments we have to throw a few back with our buds, and listen to Beau Dalton.

-Doug Huddy