Casey Dilworth

Confucius had it right when he stated how ?life is really simple,? so many years ago. And country singer Casey Dilworth is trying his best to live by those wise words today. Dilworth lives in Red Wing, Minnesota (Yes. That Red Wing, where the shoes come from) but travels to Nashville, Tennessee whenever it's time to make music. Although Confucius never made a country record (that we know of), he would heartily agree with Dilworth's many simple, but highly effective musical values.

"I feel that you should try and put your personality and emotion into a song," explains Dilworth. And this artist means what he says, by mixing sincere feeling in with his refined country pipes on every song he sings. ?If a song is kinda sad then you gotta kind of pretend you're the person it's talking about,? he continues. ?In my mind, I'm the person in the song. If I'm singing a sad song, that's a sad story, well, that's me.?

?The people who sing the songs that you like,? Dilworth continues, ?the people singing them are into the song. They're putting their personality and putting emotion into the song.? Although the vocal similarity may not be intentional, Dilworth's voice many times sounds like Willie Nelson, one of the greatest song interpreters of our time. ?For me, it was Waylon Jennings, Don Williams, Jim Reeves, and Merle Haggard,? Dilworth answers, when asked to name the singers that always put ?their personality? and ?emotion? into a song. All these musical heroes are natural storytellers. Most everybody knows how to talk -- it almost goes without saying -- but far fewer are the folks that can tell a story well; that can grab your attention and hold it. Similarly, Dilworth comes from a long line of musical storytellers, with an innate ability to tell stories in song convincingly.

Dilworth has been sharing his tales in song for a long time now. ?Keepn It Simple? is the title track off of Dilworth's sixth CD to date. Previously, he's recorded everything from the traditional bluegrass of Pickin on Me, to Vagabond Dreamer, where Dilworth had the opportunity to sing songs originally recorded by some of his heroes, such as Waylon Jennings' ?Lonesome Onry and Mean?. The new album, Keepn It Simple, includes many more examples of how simpler is usually better. ?I Know How I Wanna Live?, for instance, takes a positive approach to facing life, rather than fearing the future. And ?I Got a Girlfriend? celebrates the uncomplicated joys of having a new girlfriend.

Becoming a singer was an easy decision for Dilworth; he knew from a young age that music was his calling. ?I've been singing since I was fourteen,? Dilworth notes. ?It takes a while before you decide you wanna do something sometimes. But at about 16 or 17 I was playing in bars.?

Dilworth is excited about Keepn It Simple. ?It's probably the best CD I've ever done,? says Dilworth, who is a man of few words, notes. And Dilworth's succinctly pride in his work is simply the best possible recommendation of this talented country singer's latest effort.