When 2019 turned into 2020, Canadian guitarist, composer, and seven-time Juno Award-winning musician Steve Dawson was as busy as he had ever been in his life—playing with his friends Matt Anderson or Birds of Chicago and helming his acclaimed Music Makers and Soul Shakers podcast, all while producing albums for a multitude of roots artists and touring under his own name. So when the pandemic hit and pulled the ripcord to slow down Dawson’s life, he took the positives with the negatives and relished in some time off to work on music that may have never seen the light of day otherwise. His flurry of activity resulted in enough solo material for three distinct albums, the first of which, Gone, Long Gone—an album focused entirely on Dawson’s songcraft—will be released on March 18. (Steve Dawson, 2022)

American Songwriter premiered “Dimes,” Gone, Long Gone’s horn-laden, funk-infused opener. With a punchy, funky guitar attack akin to Ry Cooder, “Dimes” explores the age-old idea of quality versus quantity. “I just wanted to have a nice laid-back, funky feel going on over this, and then in the middle, a 70s cop-show theme song breaks out,” says Dawson, reflecting on recording the tune which features an all-star lineup of players. Fans can hear “Dimes” now at this link and check out the song’s lyric video, which premiered yesterday across the pond with Americana UK. Gone, Long Gone can be pre-ordered or pre-saved ahead of its March 18 release at this link.

Gone, Long Gone is Dawson’s first collection of songs since Solid States and Loose Ends came out in 2016, and features nine original cuts (mostly co-written with Alberta songwriter Matt Patershuk) and a soulful cover of The Faces’ “Ooh La La.” These new originals represent the first time Dawson has collaborated on songs with another artist, conceding that co-writing was a process that he previously found uncomfortable. Once Patershuk started firing off ideas to Steve, the ball got rolling, ideas flowed back and forth, and once the dust had settled, they had come up with a batch of new songs. The finished product proves that, as much as anything else, Steve Dawson is a singer-songwriter of the highest caliber and that Gone, Long Gone is the most realized album to be released under his own name to date.

As much as everyone has suffered through the past year, the beautiful music featured on Gone, Long Gone shows us that there is a bright side to our enforced isolation. It is not simply a record of the pandemic. These are songs with a life of their own that will resonate long after the memories of our current situation have faded.

Steve Dawson has long been recognized as one of Canada’s finest instrumentalists and record producers. He has collected seven Juno awards and 22 more nominations, was named Western Canadian Music Awards’ “Producer of the Year” three times and Canadian Folk Music Awards’ “Producer of the Year” four times with nominations too many to count between the two organizations. Dawson is the mastermind behind the popular podcast Music Makers and Soul Shakers, which has now published more than 100 episodes. His new album Gone, Long Gone is the first of three releases coming from a bountiful quarantine recording streak and is available on March 18, 2022. Phantom Threshold, a psychedelic pedal steel-driven instrumental album, is expected in July 2022.

Gone, Long Gone Track list:
1. Dimes
2. King Bennie Had His Shit Together
3. Bad Omen
4. Gone, Long Gone
5. I Just Get Lost
6. Kulaniapia Waltz
7. 6 Skeletons
8. Ooh La La
9. Cicada Sanctuary
10. Time Has Made A Fool Out Of Me