This Album Changed My Life: Dylan Hutchins On Chris Stapleton’s ‘Traveller’

Dylan Hutchins is a country-pop musician with a Pearl Jam spin from Perth, Western Australia. Influenced by artists like James Bay, John Mayer, Chris Stapleton and of course, Pearl Jam, Dylan is set to release his new single, One More Night, on Friday, June 23.

With a background in carpentry for the past ten years, as well as regional exploration and international travel in between, Dylan has put his tools down to chase his dream of being a full time professional musician. Along with depth and heartfelt lyrics, One More Night is the first in a line of releases for the up-and-coming artist.

To learn more about Dylan Hutchins, we asked him about an album that changed his life.

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Dylan Hutchins on Traveller by Chris Stapleton:

“I remember being 200km’s out of Laverton, Western Australia on a four-wheeler in the middle of the bush retrieving gold samples. I was doing a 3 week swing remote camping, headphones in scoping the land with Chris Stapleton’s Traveller album on repeat.

Being born myself in the mid 90’s, I have a particular vocal sound. That almost grunge style of the 90’s but the pop feel of the early 2000’s. I had a lot of influences (like many) along the way – John Mayer, James Bay, The Fray, Pearl Jam – but when I heard Traveller, it was what changed my life.

I, to some degree, already knew the vocalist I wanted to be, and the sound I had (yet struggled to portray) but not yet the musician I wanted to be. The bluegrass country style grit, while written with a ‘story telling’ theme, songs written in tangible and in metaphorical. It gave me the country music I was looking for. As I leaned more and more into the album, he answered so many elements that give me passion for music. He’s a musician. He’s a lyricist. He’s a performer.

Traveller showed me the importance of being all those things.

When The Stars Come Out was the difference to me. It was lighter than everything else on the album, with a pop essence that I was leaning into, yet the story grabbed me. ‘You and I, we’re gamblers, holding cards that we can’t see, I’m betting on you and you're betting on me’ that lyric blew me away. Chris and Morgane Stapleton to me show, as well the importance of subtle harmonies and using vocal tone, to not fill gaps but to fulfil spaces and have the vocals stand out.

Because of this album I didn’t just want to be a singer, I wanted to be a writer, I wanted to be a musician.”

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