User:Dylan Holton/sandbox

Dylan Holton
Dylan Holton (born June 25th, 1987 in Pictou County, Nova Scotia) is a Canadian Singer/Songwriter and musician. He has won Songwriter of the Month with Songwriter Universe, made Top 13 in The Major International Songwriting Competition Unsigned Only, and his first single “Weight of the World” made it to the #1 Spot on The East Coast Countdown in Eastern Canada. He was a member of The University of Mount Olive’s NCAA Division II Championship team having what is known as the biggest hit in the Universities history driving in a 3 run double in the championship game.

Baseball Career
Holton was introduced to baseball at an early age in Pictou County, Nova Scotia. He played provincially for Team Nova Scotia. He was a Draft Prospect for the 2005 MLB Draft which led him to a scholarship to Lethbridge, Alberta to play for the Prairie Baseball Academy where he was 2 time All-Canadian. He played 3 seasons in Alberta for The Lethbridge Bulls who are a part of the Western Major Baseball League, which led him to be recruited to The University of Mount Olive in North Carolina. During his time in the south, he was also recruited to play 1 season in The Coastal Plains League playing 2nd base for the Martinsville Mustangs. While attending The University of Mount Olive, he helped lead his team to a NCAA Division II National Championship.

Music Career
Holton started playing guitar at a young age but never took a serious approach until the end of his baseball career. In 2010, he began to seriously pursue a musical career when he starting playing acoustic shows in North Carolina, eventually starting his first band The Sound Down Shore. In The Sound Down Shore, Holton was the only singer and wrote majority of the songs. The band had a reggae alternative rock sound similar in the style to Sublime and G-Love. The Sound Down Shore disbanded in 2012 and Holton pursued a solo career. He would later release a full album titled Welcome To The Real World under the name The Dylan Holton Band. Produced by Worth Weaver, the album featured all original songs.

In 2013, Holton signed with Landau Music in San Diego, California and began performing shows on cruise ships around the world. After a few months on the cruise ship circuit, Holton was given the opportunity to perform his very own show consisting of all original material for thousands of people week to week.

In 2014, Holton signed a production deal in Los Angeles with producer Bill Bell (Jason Mraz, Tom Cochrane, Justin Nozuka, Jimmy Rankin). His first professionally recorded album, Jar of Sunshine, was not only produced by Bill Bell, but it was also co-produced by multiple award winning recording artist Dave Gunning, and even features a song with Dave on the 2015 release. The album was released in September, 2015 in Los Angeles due to his management signing deal in Beverly Hills. In 2015, following the release of his new album Jar of Sunshine, his first single Weight of the World won Honorable Mention in the Major International Songwriting Contest Unsigned Only, making Top 13 in the Folk/Singer-Songwriter category selected by celebrity judges with entries from over 7000 entries and over 100 countries. Weight of the World was also featured in the Top 10 East Coast Canadian Countdown for 10 consecutive weeks, topping the cart at #1 in the month of July, 2015. Holton’s second single, “Daisy A Day” is featured in a wedding video by Boundless Productions touching on the saddening but inspiring story of Jenn and Solomon Chau. The touching story reached outlets such as People, Cosmo, NY Daily News, Inside Edition and more reaching a trending and viral status with millions of listeners in August 2015. Holton’s third single, Yes She Does, won the Songwriter Universe Best Song of the Month Contest for September 2015.

Dylan is well known for his iconic bandana, curly long hair and quick-witted humor. He is single, has 7 billion friends, and lives in Los Angeles, California.

TV Appearances
Dylan was featured on late night talk show Conan in a comedy skit titled The Audiency Awards. Holton was televised nationally as winning “the audience member most likely to spend 6 hours at guitar center, without actually buying anything”.

One Tree Hill Season 9 Episode, Bar Patron

Eastbound & Down Season 3, Baseball Player

Revenge Pilot, Hampton Party Scene

Discography
•	Before the Next Chance (2011)

•	Welcome To The Real World (2013)

•	Jar of Sunshine (2015)

External Websites
Official Website