Dawson Smith, originally from South Wales, has been living in Leicester for 30 plus years.

Frontman and song-writer in Americana blues rockin’ band Dawson Smith & The Dissenters, he has always been prominent on the UK gig scene with loads of shows at venues and festivals.

Dawson got into Americana early on through Tom Petty, Creedence, Skynyrd and became a student of how Americana started and evolved. He set up The Musician Venue in Leicester and has worked with and promoted loads of touring American artists.

Following the Americana trail, Dawson has travelled to Austin Texas, Nashville, Memphis and New Orleans

“Americana is a mix up of everything from early blues, country, bluegrass, cajun onto rock & roll and rockabilly on through rock and singer-songwriters up to the modern Americana crossovers”. Dawson