These days, the Star City is home to a diverse set of entrepreneurs, creatives and community-builders from around the world … and right down the road. In each installment of our blog series, you’ll meet a new face who’ll share their spin on the Star City – their favorite places to eat, drink, connect or get inspired. In this installment, we talked to local rapper and singer/songwriter Dylan Dent, who performs Sunday at The Spot on Kirk.
Twenty-five-year-old Dylan Dent never saw himself pursuing life as a serious songwriter and performer. After graduation, he planned to become a physical therapist, with perhaps a little room for music on the side. But in 2017, when a tractor-trailer slammed into his Corolla, Dylan suddenly found himself reevaluating how to use the time he’d been given.
“I could have been gone,” Dylan recalls of the accident. “At that moment, I was like, if I remove money from the equation … and if I’m not guaranteed to live to be 85 years old, I’ve got to do something that I really enjoy, now.”
He’s been steadily making music ever since, writing and producing an EP and four singles, including “*67,” a recent collaboration with Taye the Truth, and a fan favorite, “Penny for Your Thoughts.” He hopes to release a fourteen-track album this year.
Dylan’s music is rangy in its influences, reflective of a young artist giving himself full permission to explore wherever curiosity leads him.
“I definitely have hip-hop-centric roots,” he says. “Rap was the first genre I really fell in love with. But then I also … get into indie pop and folk… I just make what I’m interested in, and then I hope other people are interested in it as well – fingers crossed!”
One thing’s certain: Dylan plans to keep his music home-grown in Roanoke.
“This is an area that has a lot of musicians, but … I feel like the scene could be bolstered,” he says, “and I would like to be a part of that.”
Here’s what he has to say about his favorite spots to eat, drink, relax and find inspiration…
Q: As Roanoke adapts to new rhythms, we’ve all been searching for our favorite locally-owned places to find great food. Do you have a favorite take-out spot these days, or perhaps a favorite spot with outdoor seating for warmer days?
DD: I literally went to Farmburguesa last night … If someone’s like, “What’s a local place you’ve got to go?” Farmburguesa is tops for me… Ike’s Kitchen [is also] one of my favorite local restaurants.
Q: How about a great spot for drinks (whatever “drinks” means to you)?
DD: I do go out for coffee, and I usually go, in this order, to RND, Little Green Hive and Sweet Donkey.
Q: Where have you been going to feel creative or find inspiration for your music lately?
DD: [On] the next album, hiking in mountains is a huge theme … so mountaintops are places where I go to get inspired. My favorite place is called the Hay Rock trail – it’s in Botetourt or Tinker Mountain – because it’s close to where I live. It’s really, really pretty, and it’s not as crowded as McAfee [Knob,] so the hermit in me loves it.
Q: Can you think of any best-kept secrets in our city … places other readers may not have discovered yet?
DD: I’ve been Door Dashing, so I’ve been to a bunch of local restaurants. Crumbles is one where … I hadn’t heard of it until I got an order from that restaurant … They have a great cinnamon roll. The owner let me try it, and he said, “If you like it, you’ve got to talk about it!” I tried it, and I liked it… [Now] I tell people, “You guys gotta go to Crumbles!”
Q: Are there any other musicians, artists or leaders in Roanoke who inspire you to be and do more?
DD: Shoutout to The Hill [Church], because I really do like Pastor Charles [Wilson] and his vision… In addition to that, I think my top three people musically are Macklyn Mosley, Dionte’ Hall and Tyler Langhorn … [They’re] all people that I just genuinely get excited whenever they do anything.
Q: What’s been keeping you encouraged in this challenging season?
DD: I’ve liked watching certain people thrive through the pandemic, like RND. I go there and they’re super busy, I’m waiting a long time for my coffee, and I’m really happy about it… People are making it!
To keep up with Dylan, follow him on Facebook. To catch his acoustic set at The Spot on Kirk on January 24, access the live stream from The Spot’s Facebook or Instagram.
Stay tuned for our next installment of Roanoke According To …
About the Writer:
Ashley Wilson Fellers is a writer, educator, self-taught painter and contemplative photographer in Roanoke, Virginia. When she isn’t teaching writing at Virginia Western, she snaps photos of sidewalk cracks, rescues wet leaves from windshield wipers and leaves poems hidden under park benches. She has a Master of Fine Arts degree from Virginia Tech.
