Walking the Line to A Country Music Dream
Raised on Chesney, McGraw and Jackson, country recording artist Dylan Raymond strives to sew the classics he grew up on into the heart of his own music. Working as an independent musician, Raymond has been able to move up the country charts without a record deal or a management company behind him. Over the past three years, Raymond has played hundreds of shows all across the country and earn millions of streams on his music, practically all by himself.
“It is really difficult to stand out because there are so many of us (musicians). When trying to book a venue, a lot of owners tend to overlook newcomers,” Raymond said. “I do all of my own social media content and booking which has become my full-time job.”
Music truly runs through Raymond’s blood as his grandfather is in the Wabash Valley Hall of Fame for playing guitar in the 80s. His brother played drums for many years and his great grandfather was a well-known blues guitarist. Raymond picked up his first guitar when he was only eight years old.
“When I first started playing guitar, I took guitar lessons from a variety of different teachers from blue grass to rock and roll. I also learned a lot from simply sitting in my room and listening to all different genres of music,” Raymond said. “I started singing when I was 14.”
After graduating from Indiana State University with a degree in Elementary Education in 2016, the Terre Haute native started teaching at Terre Town Elementary. One day during a meeting with the principal of the school, Raymond had a life changing decision to make; teaching or music. With the support of the school, he decided to take a break from teaching and chase his dreams of becoming a country music singer.
“It was a surprising decision to us to see him choose a once in a lifetime career over a steady job,” Raymond’s mother Brenda Fagg said. “But we support him and do everything we can to help him succeed.”
Though the decision of being a country recording artist was easy, the path to get there was nowhere near simple. Raymond, known for his humble writing style and deep singing voice, has touched country music lovers around the world as his music has reached over 50 countries.
“Dylan Raymond’s smooth sound is exactly what country music needs. He has a way of drawing you in and keeping you wanting more through his songwriting and storytelling,” Racquel Goldy from Off the Racq said.
He first struck it big in 2016 when his first single, “Take It Slow,” was No. 2 on the Itunes Country Pre-Order charts in between country star Kane Brown and legend Willie Nelson. “I was shocked. Seeing my first single run with the big dogs in the country music industry was truly eye opening. I knew I couldn’t stop, I had to keep going to see where this could go,” Raymond said.
Almost four years later, a lot of milestones have been conquered so far in Raymond’s career. His unforeseen successes include sharing the stage with Walker Hayes, Andy Grammer, Jake Owen, Trace Adkins, Russell Dickerson, and others. Raymond’s hit single, ‘I Can Be That’ has hit over two million streams on Spotify. He also played the prestigious CMA Fest in the summer of 2019 on the Spotlight Stage.
“Playing CMA Fest is definitely the highlight of my career. I am lucky to have been a part of sold out shows while sharing the stage with a lot of great people. I know I still have more to do and I am nowhere near done,” Raymond said.
For information about Dylan’s upcoming shows and music journey, head to www.dylanraymondmusic.com To check out Dylan’s music, you can go to any music streaming platform.