When Dakota Neuman decided he wanted to do something to enhance his upcoming annual holiday food drive, he figured that a Christmas show would be the perfect way to do it.
Of course, being an 18-year-old country music sensation comes in rather handy for things like that.
Dakota's Country Christmas show will take place on Saturday, Dec. 6, at 7:30 p.m. in the Frank Wagner Performing Arts Center in Monroe. Tickets can be purchased online for $6, and will be available at the door for $7, or $6 with a non-perishable food item. All proceeds from the show will benefit the Sky Valley Food Bank and the Monroe Arts Council.
The show will also feature performances by Snohomish Country artist Marlin James, the Monroe High School Choir, the West Coast Country Heat Dancers and dancers from the Platinum Dance Center in Monroe.
Dakota's 4th annual food drive will take place on Saturday, Dec. 13, which will bring in additional donations for the Sky Valley Food Bank. Dakota's heart for philanthropy began in 2005 after Hurricane Katrina. Since then he has worked to provide outreach for those in need, both in his own community as well as others.
"I want to better the community as much as I can,GÇ¥ said Dakota. "It's really just about wanting to help the people who I see every day.GÇ¥
He also tries to make it fun. During the food drive event, Dakota drives around to different neighborhoods in Monroe, picking up the donations while playing music and singing Christmas carols.
Singing since he was 6 years old, Dakota has performed extensively in the Sky Valley area, as well as in other parts of Snohomish County and beyond. He has performed at venues like Gold Dust Days in Gold Bar, Sultan's Shindig Festival, Monroe's National Night Out, the Historic Everett Theatre and many others. In 2012, he opened for Jake Owen at the Evergreen State Fair, and this year was asked to return to the fair to open for country music artist Chris Young.
"You get to go backstage,GÇ¥ said Dakota. "You get to meet the artists and their bands and everything. It's really cool!GÇ¥
For both of his Evergreen State Fair performances, Dakota performed an a cappella version of the National Anthem, a notoriously difficult song for even the most experienced of singers. He has performed the patriotic tune on several other occasions, including at an Everett Aquasox game and at the Evergreen Speedway.
"It's a hard song to pull off,GÇ¥ said Dakota. "If I can do it justice that's all I can ask for.GÇ¥
Initially, when Dakota began singing at age 6, it was primarily at karaoke events and competitions. Once he started to win a few of the competitions, he realized that he enjoyed singing in front of an audience and was actually rather good at it. He decided that it was a skill that he wanted to work on developing even further. Soon, he won a scholarship to the John Robert Powers School is Seattle.
The school provided him with formal training in acting, singing, improvisation, modeling and much more.
"Eventually they sent me down to L.A. for a thing called IPOP,GÇ¥ said Dakota. "That was an honor.GÇ¥
The International Presentation of Performers, or IPOP, is a biannual event held in Los Angeles, Calif., meant to promote emerging performers and help them network and gain exposure. Dakota was able to interact with professionals in the music industry, as well as from modeling and acting agencies.
Dakota has won numerous awards for his performances throughout Washington in places like Chelan, Puyallup, Monroe and Sultan. He also won many awards during his time in Los Angeles in 2006 when he was at IPOP, and in 2009 he took first place in the Young Country World Showcase which took place in Las Vegas.
As Dakota continued to evolve as a performer, he decided that he wanted to learn how to play the guitar. Primarily self-taught, he has also studied with Greg Norgaard in Monroe. He's been playing now for around five years and loves where it has taken him musically.
During his shows, Dakota's ease and comfort at being onstage easily translates into engaging and entertaining performances. He feels extremely lucky to have never suffered from serious stage fright or performance anxiety. Some shows make him a touch jittery, but he usually does just fine. Unless, Dakota explained, it happens to be a one-on-one performance in front of a prospective producer or manager.
"I have a hard time with that,GÇ¥ said Dakota. "That's where I get really nervous. But other than that, I've never really had a huge problem with nerves. Knock on wood that never happens because I don't want to deal with nerves.GÇ¥
Above all else, Dakota loves using his music as a way to positively impact other people. He finds all outreach rewarding, but has particularly enjoyed volunteering at a rehabilitation center in Snohomish that treats patients with traumatic brain injuries. Dakota has performed at the facility twice so far, and has had memorable experiences both times as far as non-communicative patients finding joy in his music.
"I told my husband it's pretty amazing because you sit there and you think nothing's happening and then they'll move,GÇ¥ said Dakota's mom, Tammy. "And then they start clapping.GÇ¥
"That shows you how powerful music is, period,GÇ¥ said Dakota.
As far as Dakota's musical influences, first and foremost he admires Garth Brooks.
"I just love Garth Brooks; he's my absolute hero,GÇ¥ said Dakota.
Looking to the future, Dakota knows for sure that he wants to stay involved in music. He is considering a number of options including chasing his dream in Tennessee, or attending college and either studying sound engineering or special needs music instruction.
"I've got to be in music in some way,GÇ¥ said Dakota. "I definitely can't do without it.GÇ¥
In addition to food donations, toy donations can be dropped off at Dakota's Country Christmas show in support of Monroe resident Abbey Aney's yearly holiday toy drive.
For more information about Dakota Neuman, please visit his website at: http://dakotaneuman.com/index_redesign.cfm. Tickets to Dakota's Country Christmas can be purchased in advance at http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/953306.
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