"DIXIE .... HOW I LOVE YA, HOW I LOVE YA ..."
It's not fair to make a grown man cry but that's exactly what Dixie Trahan's heart wrenching vocals did to me as she delivered what I consider the performance of the year while weaving the powerful, Rochelle/Hill ballad, "Little Solder" into the fabric of our time.
But, that performance is only the tip of the Dixie Trahan iceberg.
Track after track on Dixie's self titled freshman outing (Lyn-Lou Records LLRCD2) showcase one of country music's truly magical voices.
From standards like, "Too Far Gone" and "New Moon and Old Flame and You" to brand new songs like "Show Me How" and her own "Back to You & Me," the emotional roller coaster ride Dixie's vocals took me on - with her ability to wrap power and subtlety into a single line of lyric...
and sometimes into a single word - makes me know it won't be too long before the major labels come knocking on her door.
Though this is her first solo album, Dixie is a seasoned entertainer. When she was nine, her dad, a pastor, took her and the entire family on the road as full-time musical evangelists. They traveled cross-country to perform at churches and meetings. They recorded several albums and even had their own summer show in Branson, Missouri. Dixie toured with the family from age nine to seventeen and has clearly learned how to transfer her ability to communicate with live audiences into the ability to communicate just as personally through her recorded performances.
Having been in the music business for some time, it takes something really special to rev up the ol' goose bumps... On my goose bump scale of 1 to 5 ... 5 being "The Alps" ... Dixie Trahan gets a 6.
Dean Kay
Mr. Kay is currently a member of the Board of Directors of both The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) and The National Music Publishers Association and is a former member of the Boards of both the Country Music Association (CMA) and the Academy of Country Music.
Read more...