The music of Dawson Cowals has been described as "Dave Matthews sings Rich Mullins songs accompanied by James Taylor on the guitar." — musicscene.com It's this combination of driving acoustic rhythms, falsetto vocals, and poignant lyrics that have caught and held the ears of his listeners.

Dawson Cowals has a haunting voice that demands your ear. An artist who can indeed stand "unplugged," Cowals offers a beautiful array of acoustic scores with an unapologetic social conscience. It works. Faith meets fire and speaks to what is missing in the emptiness of many other works. A polished artist with a bright, shiny soul. — Sue Braiden, CBC Radio

His introspective lyrics are woven through modern folk-rock licks with a blend of soft jazz, funk, and acoustic noodlin' that challenges the ear and the tapping foot to keep up.

Hailing from Oregon, Dawson Cowals is a strong, intense performer with well thought out music. Rhythmically intelligent, his pieces all reflect solid relationships between the melodic patterns and the background music. With a voice alternating between Natalie Merchant and Dave Matthews, there is a fearless sense to his vocals, and a level of commitment in his singing that is rare and quite a wonderful thing to hear. — mp3reviews.com

And the mind isn't forgotten on the side of the road to fend for itself. Borrowing often nearly word for word from scripture Dawson's lyrics cover a wide range of topics from grace in the song "Skeletons in My Closet" to dealing with personal tragedy and the grief of losing a loved one in the poignant "When We Have Faces". His songs focus on topics relevant to both Christians and non-Christians alike; ministering to the body of believers and holding out the truth and hope of the gospel to those who are searching. Zach Garland offers this summary, calling Dawson's music:

Nice jazzy rock, with very creative lyrics; a message that doesn't hit you over the head. Dawson honors his God and shares the happiness he feels without insulting a non-Christian's intelligence. He's just got something cool he wants to share. Take note gang. Make music this good, and non-Christians will listen. Take it to the river; don't keep it in the church.

Dawson has been writing music for over 15 years and has a total of 10 full-length CDs containing over 130 songs between them. Some of the more recent recordings include his modern Christmas collection featuring the popular title track, "Born Is the King"; his full-length studio recording Don't Look Back with songs like "Green", "Seraph's Wings", and "Without You"; and an all-acoustic collection of new and older favorites, Unplugged, featuring "I'm Not That Strong" and "Sticks & Stones". Besides writing all of his own music, Dawson also sings, plays acoustic guitar and flute, and does the graphic design work on all of his CDs.

He has led worship at his church and at intimate college Bible studies; played in small coffee shop venues and sung before crowds of thousands in outdoor amphitheatres. But whether for a crowd of one or thousands, you will always find Dawson playing passionately from the heart as he shares his songs of faith, hope and love.

If you're into unique performers, solid music and lyrics with some substance to them, check out Dawson Cowals. Nice work from a fearless musician. — mp3reviews.com

2004-11-17 More In Store
2004-07-14 Live at the Solid Rock Cafe 10.12.2001
2004-03-15 Unplugged (Rerelease)
2003-12-05 Born Is The King (Rerelease)
2003-11-24 Inhabit Our Praises (Rerelease)
2001-10-14 Don’t Look Back

2001-09-05 Unplugged
2000-12-12 Born Is The King
2000-09-05 Inhabit Our Praises
1999-11-23 Sackcloth Charms
1999-09-28 The Green E.P.
1999-07-11 Reach Out
1999-06-07 Swirling Waters Tug