Devin Dawson Opens Up About His Battle With Dysphonia
Singer-songwriter Devin Dawson — known as a co-writer on Blake Shelton’s Grammy-nominated hit “God’s Country” and a featured artist on HARDY’s song “One Beer” — has been largely absent from the spotlight over the past year.
This week, he appeared on SiriusXM’s The Highway and discussed with host Storme Warren what his life has been like over the past year. Dawson revealed he has been struggling with dysphonia, a muscle and voice disorder which makes his voice sound different than usual.
He told Warren, “It’s not common but it definitely happens to people and no one really talks about it. I’ve never had an issue being vulnerable or honest or authentic or whatever but it just felt like time to kind of just open up.”
Dawson also shared that he first realized there was a change in his voice while he was on tour with Zac Brown Band in late 2021.
“There were certain notes in the middle of my range to the lower part of my range where it was like, ‘Why does this not feel the same?” Dawson said.
On Instagram, Dawson also opened up to fans, saying that he has been battling the disorder for about 10 months.
“Although I’m way better than I was a few months ago I’m still not where I need to be to give y’all 100%…which is what y’all deserve,” he said, adding, “I told myself from the beginning that I wasn’t going to hide from it or be ashamed of it.”
He said while his voice has been negatively impacted, he has also been “sharpening other swords” by writing songs every day. He also says he has strong ambitions to make another album, following his 2018 album Dark Horse (which contained the top 5 Billboard Country Airplay hit “All on Me”) and his 2021 EP The Pink Slip.
“NOBODY wants me to make another record more than I do,” he said. “I promise you that. And I will. As far as when that will be, I’m not so sure. But I am sure it will be a damn good one!”
Jessica Nicholson
Billboard
