Don Dixon

Join us on January 6, 2024 in Gas Hill Drinking Room for An Evening with Don Dixon! Doors at 6:30 PM, and the show will start at 7 PM. Tickets are on sale NOW at TheRamkat.com! Don Dixon was born in a small mill town in South Carolina in 1950. He became a professional bassist when he was in the 8th grade. In 1969, while a freshman at UNC-CH, he formed Arrogance with Robert Kirkland, Mike Greer, Jim Glasgow and Marty Stout. For 13 years, Arrogance played an integral part in the creation of the rich North Carolina Triangle Music Scene, first recording and releasing their own independent albums, then, with Glasgow replaced by Scott Davison, signing with Vanguard Records, a successful New York based label known primarily for folk (Joan Baez, Doc Watson, Odetta), jazz, (Elvin Jones, Oregon, Larry Coryell) and classical music. After the addition of Rod Abernethy in the late 70s, they signed to Warner/Curb. Arrogance disbanded in 1983. In 1985, a collection of Dixon’s recordings from the previous few years called Most of the Girls Like To Dance But Only Some of the Boys Like To was released in the UK on Demon Records. Mega Records released that Lp in Europe, Australia and Japan. Shortly after, he signed with Enigma in the US. Howard Libov made a video for his song Praying Mantis which became popular on MTV, while Mega landed him several hits in Scandinavian countries where he often toured in the mid to late 80s. He continued to make records for Enigma throughout the decade well into the 90s. As a producer he has created albums with Chris Allen, Richard Barone, Kim Carnes, The Carpenter Ants, David Childers, The Connells, Marshall Crenshaw, Kyle Davis, Pat DiNizio, Fethchin Bones, Gin Blossoms, Larry Groce, Guadalcanal Diary, Hootie and the Blowfish, In Tua Nua, Marti Jones, Tommy Keene, Let’s Active, James McMurtry, Moxy Früvous, R.E.M., The Red Clay Ramblers, Rosavelt, Kelley Ryan, The Smithereens, Mathew Sweet and Austin Walkin’ Cane along with dozens of other equally talented bands and individuals. He has written songs recorded by Joe Cocker, Counting Crows, Marshall Crenshaw, Hootie and the Blowfish, Marti Jones, Darlene Love and Ronnie Spector, among others. Additionally, he has appeared in plays and movies. Dixon has been a session musician throughout his life, singing and playing on dozens of recordings a year. He also tours regularly with Mary Chapin Carpenter. Despite being born in the red clay of piedmont South Carolina, Dixon’s roots run deep in Eastern North Carolina where they draw from the waters of the Pamlico Sound. When riding the ferry from Cedar Island to Okracoke, if you’re very still, you might hear his voice singing faintly in the salty air. He now lives in Ohio and continues to write, perform and produce. His newest collection, released in 2023, is called Gunny Sack.