Award winning songwriter and staunch Country traditionalist, Blake Dantier is back with his latest single ‘Don’t Say When’. It comes ahead of the release of his highly anticipated debut album ‘Dry Season’, out on 25 th March and available for pre order now.
“It’s got to be the most personal track on the album,” admits Dantier. The mid-tempo ballad reveals a
more sensitive side to the songwriter, who is better known for his good time drinking songs like ‘Last Call’ and ‘Wish You Were My Beer’. “I wrote ‘Don’t Say When’ for my Grandad, who passed a few years back,” he says. “Grandad was a lover of fine scotch and red wine, but I’d always been too young to share a drink with him. This song is about having that drink – cracking open a bottle, starting to pour and not saying when.”
Produced by Simon Johnson at Hillbilly Hut studios, Dantier insisted ‘Don’t Say When’ feature an
accordion part, as a nod to his grandfather. “I can’t play anything close to what he could,” jokes Dantier “but I’ll learn one day”. Shot and directed by Duncan Toombs of The Filmery, the video sees Dantier immersed in a maze of art and upcycled furniture and features his grandfather’s beloved accordion in the flesh.
The road to the debut album has been full of bumps and detours (starts with C and rhymes with ‘over it’) but that hasn’t stopped Dantier from blazing a clear path. Four of his self-penned singles from the upcoming album featured in the CountryTown Hot 50 airplay chart, with ‘Last Call’ peaking at #8. He was also the winner of two Tamworth Songwriters Salute Awards in 2021. He shares the wins with his fiancée and Golden Guitar award nominee, Cass Hopetoun, with whom he wrote the #1 airplay hit ‘Typical Bride’. Dantier even attracted the attention of Adam Harvey , who duets with him on the album track, ‘You Don’t Mix Whiskey’.
“It’s been a hot minute since we started this album and I’m so keen to get out there and play it,” chirps Dantier. Fans won’t have to wait too much longer as he will be launching the album with shows in the Blue Mountains and Sydney, as well as a special double bill with fellow honky-tonkers, Michael Carpenter and The Banks Brothers. He’ll then be hitting the road with his fiancé Cass Hopetoun, performing at Meatstock Toowoomba and opening for Jayne Denham.
Blake Dantier has yet again proved his versatility as a songwriter with ‘Don’t Say When’; its heartfelt
story packs a punch that lingers like a barrel aged single malt. You can see why The Music Network
named him “One of the most exciting prospects on the local country scene”! If this is just a taste of
what’s to come, then the debut album is sure to be nothing but top shelf.