Takamine

Just last week, from our storage locker at the Soundcheck Nashville rehearsal facility, a classic country band could be heard in a nearby rehearsal room running through their set. We had no idea who they were, but they were putting down some beauties... some familiar, others not, all delivered by this giant, gritty baritone and a seasoned country band.

We inquired at the front office as to who they were, expecting to hear a familiar name from country music’s classic past. “It’s Dillon Carmichael,” we were told. “New guy." One quick online check to see if he played guitar. He did. That was it.

It’s one thing to lament the passing of classic country... the kind of songs that tell stories, give you chills, make you cry. But to hear a “new guy” who had the singing and writing chops to take us there again? Takamine had earned its Nashville wings in the hands of such artists as Don Williams, Ricky Skaggs, Montgomery Gentry and even a young Blake Shelton. So for us to have an opportunity to align with that ilk of artist again was a no-brainer. Whoever this Dillon Carmichael guy was, wherever he was going, we were in.

Dillon met us the hallway where he was presented a new P6JC jumbo sunburst cutaway from our Pro 6 Series. The friendly 23-year-old could not have been more surprised or grateful. Slowly, his band, management and record label execs filed out into the hallway to witness. Dillon decided to baptize his new guitar by playing a tune for us all.

Among those who appeared in that hallway gathering was Dillon’s manager John Dorris, who had managed none other than Don Williams, Ricky Skaggs, Montgomery Gentry, and who, 20 years earlier, had sent a gangly, polite Blake Shelton our way for a Takamine.

Check out Dillon’s impromptu hallway performance below. It has been up just one week and earned over 123,000 views. Check out his Facebook page for more info.