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Here are a few articles that give some background on Dawson and where he is coming from when he writes and shares his music. More to come soon!

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Biography
Dawson playing live at Insomnia Coffee

As a brief introduction I am a Chritian singer/songwriter living just outside Portland, Oregon with my lovely wife Jessica. I have been leading worship and writing songs for more than 20 years and have been described musically as "Dave Matthews sings Rich Mullins."

If you're curious about more of my background you can keep scrolling down, because I don't want to prattle on about lists of musical accomplishments and talk mostly about myself. That's because the real goal behind my music is to point to someone other than me—to point to Jesus. Hopefully I do it in such a way that my songs truly reflect his character and his amazing love and make people want to know him more. I want to draw people in so they can relate to my struggles but also show them the hope and strength I've found in him!

It all comes down to why I write these songs and what I hope they do for my listeners. Paul puts it rather succinctly in 1 Corinthians 13 that it doesn't matter what amazing accomplishments I have or how much I give to the poor; at the end of the day if I "do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal." I don't want to come across as another "holier-than-thou" Christian who only points a finger and burdens people with guilt. We all struggle with enough burdens already and need to have them lifted, not more added to the top of the teetering pile! I just hope I can convey the joy and peace I've found through having my own burdens of guilt and sin lifted from my shoulders by his amazing grace!

So please feel free to stop by and take a listen. Join me on this journey of struggles and blessings alike, and I hope these songs make you smile, give you comfort in grief, have you clapping your hands in praise and leave you encouraged in your faith.

For those who really want some biographical bullet points my musical journey began in the womb with my dad playing guitar and banjo and my parents subjecting me to CSNY and John Denver. My parents divorced when I was young, but the musical heritage had planted roots that would spring up later. In the early 80s shortly after my mom remarried, my parents became missionaries and joined YWAM, serving at the Kona base in Hawaii.

I noodled on piano by ear but it wasn't until we moved back to Oregon at the start of junior high that I began to learn my first musical instrument—the flute. It wouldn't be until my junior year in high school that I picked up the guitar somewhat by accident as the lesser of two evils. I had an open period I needed to fill and the only two options were ceramics or beginning guitar. Since the guitar class was taught by my band director, and I was already more musically inclined, guitar won out!

And that marked the beginning of my songwriting days in 1990. I continued to write songs when I went away to college at Oregon State University in 1992, and began to lead worship for Bible studies, Campus Crusade, Young Life and at various churches. Since then I have written several hundred songs and recorded over a dozen CDs, playing for small living rooms, coffee shops and for crowds of thousands. At the end of the day, though, I much prefer gathering together with a group of friends and leading worship in a small home group, so if you have room on your couch let me know and I'd be happy to swing on by!

We are currently working in the studio on a new full-length CD and several singles from the project are available on iTunes, CD Baby and Amazon along with the rest of my discography. Some of the most recent songs include "Jehovah Jireh", "Shades of Grace" and "Turn Your Eyes". This spring we have been scheduling some living room acoustic concerts in the Portland area as well as various coffee shops around the state, so stay tuned for some additional dates happening later this summer.

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Featured CD: Looking Up At The Same Star
Dawson's 12th cd is a collection of his wedding & love songs written & performed for friends' weddings as well as for his own wife. Produced by Nick Garrett-Powell and Dawson & featuring the hits "Same Star," the French-lyric, hip-hop love song "Mon étoile filante" and "Cord of Three Strands" which he wrote and sang as his own wedding proposal! Available at CDBaby, Amazon, iTunes and hopefully a speaker near you!
Buy Now From CDBaby Buy Now From iTunes
Featured Video
Music video for 'Same Star'
This is Dawson's 2nd "Official" music video, again filmed and edited by Jeff Huit. This song is from his collection of love songs entitled Looking Up At The Same Star. The video tells the story of how Dawson and his wife, Jessica, met and eventually got married. It features cameos from Jessica Cowals, Nick Garrett-Powell, Rayleigh Leavitt & her dog Rivers, and Joe Mistachkin.
For a limited time you can get my entire 11th album, Coffee Shop Songs (2008), featuring the songs "Yoke" and "Before The Sun Sets" for FREE! As one reviewer writes: "Cowals' tunes are full and captivating whether he is playing solo acoustic guitar or accompanied by a handful of other talented musicians. The multi-talented artist's flute work and lackadaisical vocal octave jumps throughout certain songs also give these Biblical verse driven tunes a Dave Matthews feel." If you enjoy the music, please tell your friends and use the 'Tip the Artist' feature to say thanks and support the music! I'm currently in the studio finishing my 13th CD due out Spring 2012.
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