Dakota East

Coastal Country gem, Dakota East, is fast becoming one of Australia's hottest new acts. Born in Canada the now Melbourne based artist attributes the roots of her unique style to her upbringing in a small island log cabin in the middle of a secluded lake in Ontario's shield country. Speaking of her musical immersion of artists such as Shania Twain, John Denver and Bonnie Raitt, East remembers "There was always Country, Folk and Blues music playing around the house and it was the perfect soundtrack to that special landscape and my magical childhood".

Her debut single, "Runaway," with it’s slick production mixing shimmery Electric Guitars and atmospheric Pedal Steel, took the airwaves by storm, amassing over 400,000 streams and earning spots on official Spotify + Apple Music playlists. Following this the songwriter began making inroads in the live circuit with her powerful voice and genre bending sound, scoring support slots for Shannon Noll, Travis Collins, Jon Stevens and Joe Camilleri, along with captivating performances at Deniliquin Ute Muster, Tamworth Country Music Festival, Brunswick Music Festival and St Kilda Music Festival.

Being selected as a top 10 finalist in the 2024 Tamworth Toyota Starmaker Competition was a supercharged way to begin the year for the vocalist, culminating in a performance on the Toyota Park Main Stage to a crowd of 3000+ fans. Soon after, East released her latest single "Moving On" which reached number 8 on the Countrytown Hot 50 Radio Charts, drawing her in a new wave of dedicated fans.

With the mission of staying true to the raw musical emotion of her original influences but also forging ahead into the evolving landscape of country music, Dakota East emerges as a stand out talent and is poised for big things.