Dalton Carew

A singer-songwriter emerging in Ottawa, Dalton’s sound is shaped by the tangle of his hometown in the west, his roots in the Maritimes, and an upbringing throughout Southern Ontario—a restless friction of division, which he has come to defiantly embrace.

Forming the cornerstone of his compositions, he uses lyrical and melodic tension as he balances strength and tenderness while leaning into ornamentations like Celtic trills or the cowboy’s yodel. With a voice as unrefined as it is earnest, his sound carries the wear and tear of countless nights spent busking in markets, streets, and parking garages with his battered steel guitar.

Drawing influence from folk legends like Ewan MacColl and Woody Guthrie, Dalton channels this raw energy into his performances, be it on the street, in a pub, or at a café.