Every holiday season brings a sense of reflection, and for Canadian guitarist John Dawson, that reflection takes shape in music. “It always amazes me how the veil between past and present seems pulled back during the holidays,” he says. “Traditions meet change, and in that mix, we find meaning.”

 Dawson, a longtime figure in Canada’s folk and roots scene, has quietly built a reputation as one of the country’s best-kept secrets. Based in the Greater Toronto Area, he is a songwriter, guitarist, and composer who has worked across performance, education, and composition. His resume includes sharing stages with Juno and Grammy-nominated artists and backing Jackie Lomax at a Beatles Festival in 2011.

 For his latest project, Dawson strips away everything but the essentials. His new recording, a solo guitar arrangement of the traditional carol “O Little Town of Bethlehem,” is a quiet meditation amid the noise of the season. There is no singing, no embellishment, only pure, intentional playing. “It’s precisely what I do in the quiet nights by the soft light of a tree,” he says. “It’s what I wanted most to share.”

From Newmarket, Ontario, songwriter and guitarist John Dawson releases his latest single “Take the Time,” a beautifully reflective and emotionally grounded piece that reaffirms his place as one of Canada’s quietly brilliant voices in folk and roots music. With lyrical depth, warm arrangements, and an honest vocal delivery, “Take the Time” reveals Dawson’s rare ability to explore the human condition with clarity, humility, and heart.

Written and performed by Dawson, the track is accompanied by a stellar rhythm section featuring Manny DeGrandis on bass and Anthony D’Angela on drums. It was produced by Mike Walsom and mastered by Justin Perkins, whose work helps bring out the song’s rich sonic texture without overwhelming its intimate message.

There is a certain weight to a song that feels lived in, the kind that doesn’t just tell a story but carries the marks of time, regret, and redemption. John Dawson’s latest single, “Mend in My Ways,” is one of those songs—a quiet but powerful reflection on taking love for granted and the slow, often painful process of setting things right. Following the success of “Where You Belong,” “Things That I Meant to Say,” and “Life Just Came to Me,” Dawson continues to carve his space in the folk-roots tradition as a storyteller whose words feel as familiar as a well-worn book, yet as profound as a revelation.

They say that behind every great man is a woman. That’s the theme of “Under All the Lights,” the new single from Newmarket roots musician John Dawson that finds deep emotional resonance in the age-old poetic trope of the enduring love between … a pro wrestler and his wife?

For real, though. Behind the song’s craftily ambiguous portrait of undying devotion is the specific story of WWE superstar Cody (son of Dusty) Rhodes and his loyal spouse, Brandi. They’re the pair Dawson is thinking of when he sings of a man—seen variously as a “warrior” and a “mage” by the world at large—who knows his true strength comes from his partner.

There are times in life where you're not sure what direction to go or where to turn, but, looking back, you realize what happened was just the way life or fate planned it. That notion is captured perfectly with "Life Just Came to Me," a gentle, toe-tapping single courtesy of Newmarket, Ontario-based folk roots musician John Dawson from his album Outlier.

 Newmarket Roots Musician John Dawson Speaks To Life's Big Picture With "Things That I Meant To Say" From Outlier Album

One of life's bigger events is the birth of a child and the dichotomy that comes for parents. On one hand there's the joy of seeing a little bundle of joy while on the other there is the fear and stress of how to look after and care for that same little bundle of joy. For John Dawson, his latest single "Things That I Meant To Say" serves as a credo to tell his child of the wholehearted love and support they'll have regardless of what unexpected twists, turns or hurdles life has in store.

"The song essentially serves as a list of things I wanted to make sure my child knew no matter what challenges life presented to our relationship," Dawson says. "It is also the picture of the ideal parent I hope to be as I moved into this new adventure: an example of unconditional and unwavering love 'until my days are done.' Above all, I believe it's a song that serves as a reminder to me during those inevitably challenging times of that one thing which truly matters above all else: love."