Simon Dumas & King Callaway

in Features

Will fame happen in 2020?

What a year it has just been for Country Rock band ‘King Callaway’ who still remain hotly tipped for a big breakthrough success in 2020. They burst into the US Country scene amid concerns from purists who were deriding them as a manufactured boy band. Those critics were soon to eat their words because this exciting and talented six piece band released an EP which featured ‘World for Two’ a song which has already amassed nearly 3.8 million hits on music platform ‘Spotify’ alone. 

Ok, so ‘Eagles meet One Direction’ was one of the derisory comments made, perhaps inspired by true facts. Namely ‘King Calaway’ is a band that has been put together or assembled by CMA Awards producer Robert Deaton. They are a bunch of good looking lads who their marketing has squarely aimed at the female element. Someone has finally identified a market space for an ‘Eagles’ type of band who can pick up the baton and continue to enrich our world with spectacular harmonies.

The facts are that these guys can play well and do spectacular harmonies as well as look good doing it and importantly they are still young troubadours so what’s not to like? Well let’s meet them in print so they are: Roger Deaton on drums, Caleb Miller on lead guitar, Jordan Harvey guitar and vocals, Chad Michael Jervis guitar and vocals and Austin Luther on bass plus one other guy from Gibraltar…

 One sixth of ‘King Calaway’ is local heart throb Simon Dumas (formerly of ‘Frontiers’) who sings, plays guitar and keyboards, whom I managed to catch up with briefly to look back and to look forward on the band’s achievements and future prospects. 

“In terms of updates this year has been incredible. We’ve made incredible memories with plenty of ‘living the dream’ moments. For me personally, performing on TV ‘The Late Late Show with James Corden’ was a big highlight.” They also did the Jimmy Kimmel Live! TV show in June.

King Calaway toured the influential ‘morning’ radio stations playing live and unplugged and then crowned their ‘live performances’ achievements by playing live at the ‘Grand Ole Opry’ (twice!), the hallowed temple of Country artists. They opened for Country legend Garth Brooks when he played Minneapolis Bank Stadium in May (for over 66,000 fans) and personally introduced them on stage. “A huge highlight as well was our stadium show playing with Garth Brooks.” Brooks is the third biggest selling artist in US history after Elvis Presley and The Beatles.

They have since done high profile national US TV and radio and keep notching up successes wherever they go. At the ‘Grand Ole Opry’ they also played with Grammy award winning Country legend Ricky Skaggs, a complex vocal harmony version of The Eagles’ ‘Seven Bridges Road.’ Their new album ‘Rivers’ ( a really good 12 song collection worth owning) keeps winning over converts and even plaudits from their peers, legends ‘Rascal Flatts’ who also wanted ‘King Calaway’ to open for them on tour dates. 

“We’ve flown over ninety five flights this year all over the States, to Australia and Gibraltar and hopefully next year will be bigger and better.” That kind of success only happens when talented musicians punch above their weight and prove their critics wrong.  Their talented young guitarist Caleb Miller has recently been featured in a prominent US Guitar online magazine (Guitar.com – worth checking out). The spread is rare honour for a newcomer.

‘King Calaway’ closed the year with a stunning festive single. A cover version of John Lennon’s ‘Happy Christmas (War is Over)’ and with their new album ‘Rivers’ they are certainly well poised for their big break in 2020. Here last September for ‘Gibraltar Calling,’ they wowed the home crowd at the music festival with a polished high energy three quarter hour set which was memorable. 

“We want our music to reach as many people as possible and we hope that people across the world can start singing those ‘King Calaway’ songs as loudly as possible.” Amen to that say I, and also that as I write this I’m looking forward to catching up with Simon Dumas over the Christmas break when he visits so that we can expand our knowledge of his new horizons as he lives the dream of making it big in America. Will fame come to visit in 2020? Who knows but I know a very talented local musician who is well ready for that outcome.

Tags:

Latest from Features

Honesty | Radical

“When you tell a lie, you steal someone’s right to the truth”…

Wave FC

Breaking Barriers: Developing Women’s football in Gibraltar Football is the most popular…

0 £0.00
Go to Top