Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Blake Dagley. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Blake, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.

I was Raised in a church in a small town in Texas, where I found my voice at a young age. My time in an Acapella congregation informed my style from the start; four-part harmony was a part of my vocabulary before I could read or ride a bike. However, the real story of what started my pursuit of a music career is… I saw some guys playing guitars at a camp I was at, and I saw how much the ladies liked it, so I figured I needed to learn how to play the guitar as well.

Blake, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

For more than 20 years I have been writing songs and performing those in several different bands.

I was heavily influenced by the music my parents listened to and the sound of ’90s rock. I found myself trapped between the worlds of Jim Croce, Bon Jovi, and Matchbox Twenty. I know crazy, right? It may sound like a crazy combination of influencers, but 2o years into it and I am starting to see just how much those influences have directed my musical styles.

For the first 10 years of my musical journey, I played in acoustic rock bands and for the 9 years after that, I played in a blues band called the 9th St. Band.

When the pandemic hit here in North America, it became apparent that trying to get 7 people in a room to practice was nearly impossible. I found myself playing a lot of solo shows and doing a lot of Facebook Live sessions. During that time I caught the eye of Nashville producer Dean Miller and in September of 2021, I went to Nashville to cut a 3 song solo EP.

Since the release, I am approaching over 70k streams on the EP and I signed an artist development deal with Old Pine Artist Services out of Nashville.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

For most of my musical journey, I led the bands I was in. This meant I wore so many hats. I am also an audio engineer and producer, which meant that I did almost all of the production (both in-studio and live performances) for these bands. I typically did all the managing and booking for the bands and because of that I got burned and burned out more than I should have.

Over the years I have learned better skills in sharing those responsibilities, however, the break I experienced during the early days of the pandemic, made it clear that I still had not done that great of a job delegating.

If I could heed some advice to creatives that are very hands-on…, learn the art of delegation. Set boundaries and make sure you communicate the expectations of the team you surround yourself with.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

The joy on people’s faces and seeing the moments when people’s worries disappear while I am playing music is by far the most rewarding part of what I do. Music speaks to the soul and being able to share a universal language with humankind brings me such joy.

Contact Info:

• Website: blakedagleymusic.com
• Instagram: @blakedagleymusic
• Facebook: @blakedagleymusic
• Linkedin: [email protected]
• Twitter: @blakedagleymusic
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuUgR8y1MlT6j10aZ3PUe_A