Desirée Dawson is an award-winning songwriter and recording artist from Vancouver, BC. A festival favorite at DCMF 2023, we are thrilled to welcome her back! Driven by a passion for collective liberation, Desirée’s music emphasizes that learning how to take care of ourselves and getting to know and love ourselves, is essential to fostering stronger and more loving connections with the world around us.

Desirée got her start in music as an avid jammer, open mic performer, cover-band singer, and full-time busker. Her career took a significant turn after winning CBC Searchlight in 2016, which led to incredible growth and opportunities such as getting music played on CBC radio, performing at many national and international festivals, being a part of song-writing camps, winning best music video at SXSW festival (2022), receiving a Juno nomination for adult contemporary album of the year (2022) and joining the western-Canadian leg of Serena Ryder’s tour (2023). One of Desirée’s most recent highlights has been her song I Am Blessed going viral on Tiktok and Instagram which has been a moving and empowering experience for her and her supporters. Listeners from all over the world have connected so deeply with the short clip she posted on social media. Desirée released a short, self-produced, version of the song in 2023 which has garnered over 3 million streams on Spotify alone, and a full length version that came out Oct 25th 2024. 

With her powerful voice as her main instrument, Desirée often accompanies it with her baritone ukulele or body percussion and she has a passion for harmonizing and singing with others. She is a genre bender and gets great joy from not fitting in a box. She blends folk, soul, pop, americana, and old-time country influences into her creations, though she often labels her music as ‘singer-songwriter’ for simplicity.