Picture this: Me and my friends decide to head on a couple hundred miles round trip down to attend The Big Feastival, a family friendly festival in the Cotswolds, UK, filled with some of the biggest names. We had our sights set on seeing Anne Marie, not really fussing over the rest of the line up. Little did we know that this is where we would see Dylan for the first time and fall in love with her and her music.
Dylan has had a crazy schedule the last few months, from supporting Bastille, Tate McRae and Ed Sheeran on tour (to be continued in 2023), she’s also been able to squeeze in her own headline tour. So, who is Dylan you might ask? Dylan is a 23 year old musician from the UK who somehow has at least one song everyone can relate to. Got a friend who’s settling for less than what they deserve? No Romeo. Got out of a toxic relationship? Blisters. Her discography may not be very large at the moment, but it will have you listening on repeat.
And when her newest mixtape The Greatest Thing I’ll Never Learn dropped a month ago, our ears were blessed. Some of the songs we had already heard, maybe all if you had been to one of Dylan’s shows, as she loves to sing an unreleased track. As you click shuffle you experience so many different emotions. And I can tell you those emotions never fade, even when you’re on your 30th consecutive listen of the mixtape.
One song stands out to me in particular, Home Is Where The Heart Is. During the first listen to the studio version, I had to sit in silence for a minute and reflect on everything I had just heard. Although I had heard the song on multiple occasions live, there was just something about the first listen to the studio version. This song doesn’t need explaining, the ones who know, know. This song and the lyrics make Dylan feel so much less of an unreachable rockstar, but a 23 year old girl who has the same feelings and experiences that we all do. And that makes her even more admirable as an artist.
Although Dylan has embarked on more tours as support acts rather than her own, she still managed to create a core fanbase who support her wholeheartedly, and even got her mixtape The Greatest Thing I’ll Never Learn into the top 20 album charts. She has given her fans a safe space, a place they feel comfortable in and a place some even describe as ‘home.’ Along with the music and the shows, she has also helped them find comfort in each other, allowing them to find their closest friends.
Dylan is definitely one to watch out for. She is going from strength to strength personally and as an artist. Next year she embarks on her UK & Europe tour, increasing her venue capacity from the hundreds to thousands. Whether you’re someone who likes to be at the front or find yourself partying at the back, a Dylan gig is the perfect place for either
ROARA Magazine 