Who Is Dalton Dover? The Story Behind His Journey to Country Music

Earlier this year we named Dalton Dover as one of our 2023 Artists To Watch. Today, we are sharing exactly why he made our exclusive list.

The Georgia native grew up with country music in his soul. “I’m from a small town in Georgia, I sang beside my grandpa in church my whole childhood,” he began. “I just found really early influences. I loved singing for people and entertaining people. My grandpa introduced me early on to Keith Whitley, Conway Twitty, Merle Haggard, and a lot of the traditional country music.”

While his early influence certainly came from the long-established legends of the genre, Dover also loves artists like Luke Combs, Blake Shelton, and Chris Young. “I try to find influence everywhere. They are some people that I love listening to today and look up to,” shared the singer-songwriter.

At seventeen, Dover’s love for music expanded even more. “I just fell in love with country music. My grandpa bought me a guitar when I was seventeen. […] I learned “Don’t Close Your Eyes” by Keith Whitley and it was the first song I ever learned how to play on guitar,” he shared.

The Whitley song continued to be an important song for Dover as he grew into his artistry. “I’ll never forget the first time I heard that song, [“Don’t Close Your Eyes”] I remember getting chills on my arms and thinking that’s what I want to do right there. There’s no other option. Country music has always been country music, and I fell in love with it.”

The Turning Point:

As soon as Dover realized that music was his calling, there truly was no turning back. “Music has always been a part of me and my family and my friends were always like ‘one day you’re going to make it,'” shared the singer. Adding later, “I don’t feel like I made it yet to where I want to be, but so far where everything’s at, it’s been a long road from playing many shows at home and playing wherever anyone would let me play shows, I was always on a stage somewhere.”

In 2019, Dover tried out for the show, The Voice, where he auditioned for the judges with none other than the song, “Don’t Close Your Eyes.” Being on Team Blake [Shelton] helped the singer grow his confidence and artistry. “When I was on the show, I found myself. I found the artist that Dalton Dover wanted to be, I found my voice, and I came home with a different mindset. I wanted to write songs, I wanted to put songs out, I wanted to pursue this completely, ya know.”

Shortly after the show, Dover started coming to Nashville, writing songs, and truly grinding his way to his current record deal. “I wrote a few songs and then TikTok came along not too long after that, and everything just kind of fell into place, and I got to Nashville,” shared the major-label artist.

Today:

Although Dover is already a superstar according to his impressive TikTok following and fanbase, his career truly is just getting started to takeoff. The singer-songwriter makes his major-label debut with his brand new single, “Giving Up On That,” out this Friday. Check back here for our full review of the track!

In order to get fans excited for the song, the singer shared with us what we can all expect from the debut, which was written during his first-ever writer’s retreat.

“I didn’t know what to expect. I was so nervous. My buddy had told me just start getting ideas. […] This was when I was learning how to find inspiration everywhere,” began Dover. “[My buddy said] I’m never going to give up on that love, and I was like ‘oh shit, I guess I’ll just write that then.’ And so that song comes from a real place and a real-time, and it’s a very special song.”

Dover adds, “This song is going to kind of bridge the gap. It’s going to be a new era of Dalton Dover and I’m so excited for what it’s going to bring.” He also hinted that the single will be his first at country radio. “I feel like maybe you might hear me on the radio a lot. Maybe you’ll see a lot more of me everywhere […] In a business that’s so unknown, I’m so excited about the future and what it will bring.”

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