Arlington Native Dylan Chambers Returns Home for Center Stage Music Festival Performance

By Autumn Sanders

Posted on June 05, 2017, June 05, 2017

Put your dancing shoes and head on down this weekend to the annual Downtown Arlington Center Stage Music Festival.

The free outdoor festival kicks off Friday, June 9 with country singer Bri Bagwell and Americana band Reckless Kelly. On June 10, the Levitt welcomes The Gibbonses, a husband and wife duo, and chart-topping rock band Orleans. Rounding out the festival on June 11 is Arlington-native Dylan Chambers and hip-hop fusion duo Black Violin.

For Dylan Chambers, a pop/R&B/soul singer, song writer and guitarist, this isn't just any concert. It's a return to his roots.

"I think it always re-energizes me when I come back home. This is where it all started for me," Chambers said.

A product of a musical upbringing, Chambers said he always knew he'd find his way into music.

"I grew up in a very musical household," said Chambers, whose mother is a vocal coach. "I was exposed to all different types of music at a very young age, so it just felt natural to go into music."

Chambers performed at venues all across The American Dream City before moving out to Los Angeles seven years ago.

"Randy Ford over at J. Gilligan's used to hire me all the time. I played there pretty much every Saturday night. I gained a lot of confidence doing that," said Chambers, who also performed at venues such as Speed's Billiards. "All these places kind of gave me a start, and gave me a chance to grow in my music."

But his best memory will always be opening for his dad's favorite band, Three Dog Night, at the Levitt Pavilion in Arlington when he was 16.

"We'd just happened to have been to talking about Three Dog Night and I got a call from Patti Diou, the executive director at the Levitt," Chambers said. "And she just said, 'Three Dog Night is coming to town and I wanted to know if you'd like to open for them.' And I thought she was kidding, because I was just like there's no way, I'm 16 and they're a legendary band."

When speaking to other aspiring musicians, Chambers said he shares the advice given to him by Three Dog Night band members Cory Wells and Jimmy Greenspoon.

"They both said, 'Well, the journey is hard and there's going to be lots of ups and lots of downs and in betweens. But anytime someone slams the door in your face, you have to kick it back open,'" Chambers recalled. "I've thought about it every day since I've moved here and gone through those ups and downs. Anytime somebody says no, you have to turn that into a yes. You have to kick the door back open."

For more information about the Center Stage Music Festival, please visit the Levitt Pavilion website.