AN AMERICANA SALUTE TO VETS AND LIFE BUDDIES

Nashville's Billy Dawson makes a musical tribute that supports soldiers and service dogs, with help from Billy Sheehan and others.

- JOE BOSSO

ON HIS DYNAMIC new album, Warrior Life, Nashville-based singer-songwriter and guitarist Billy Dawson delivers a set of anthemic, deeply emotional Americana-laced songs that pay tribute to the members of the U.S. military. To call it a concept record wouldn't be too much of an exaggeration. As Dawson describes it, "The album is my way of honoring the men and women who think nothing of putting their lives on the line to protect our freedoms."

The origins for the project date back to several years ago, when Dawson attended a Wounded Warrior football game in which one of the teams was sponsored by Sierra Delta, an organization that trains and pairs service dogs with veterans. At the game, Dawson met Chris Bishop, one of the founders of Blue Buffalo pet food, and before long the two devised the idea of recording an album to benefit Sierra Delta.

"It's such an incredible program in that it helps vets learn to communicate with their dogs and set routines for them and their pets," Dawson says. "Dogs need somebody to love, and veterans' hearts grow like magic because of their dogs. The bond they share is unbelievable. Chris funded the album and backed me the whole way. I couldn't have made the record without his support."