Eric Dawson, a Kinston, NC native, has been surrounded by music his whole life. His father is a vocalist and guitarist that’s from Goldsboro, NC. When Eric was young, he was always in awe of all the local musicians that used to stop by his father’s house and jam for hours on end. He began playing keys at the very young age of 10 composing songs and listening to his father’s record collection. One artist that stood out to Eric was Grover Washington Jr. Grover was the sole reason that Eric picked up the sax at 11.
While in college at ECSU, he was asked to play a few dates with The Jazz Connection. The members at the time were Dennis Figgs, Wayne James, Kentric Morris, and CJ Mercer. Later on, Kentric and CJ joined Najee’s band in NY.
February 21, 2014, Eric and the Arts Council of Wayne County in Goldsboro, NC embarked on a joint venture to bring these legendary musical experiences back to Eastern NC and named it Wayne County Jazz Showcase. Season 1 featured artists that were from, grew up, lived, or have roots in NC. Eric continued the theme of the shows composition being of NC’s finest expanding his network to over 100’s bands and artists he’s connected to. January 2016, Eric stepped down from the board of ARTS NC to further his mission of expanding the Wayne County Jazz Showcase.