Recent Catawba College graduate Dustin Chapman has been nominated for four Josie Music Awards.
The Josie Music Awards is an all-genre music award ceremony which hosts singers, songwriters, and music industry professionals from around the world. The 2019 ceremony will be held Sept. 21 in its new permanent home at the Celebrity Theater located at Dolly Parton’s Dollywood Theme Park in Pigeon Forge, TN. The awards program is a brand of The Josie Network, LLC, owned by Josie Passantino and Tinamarie Passantino.
Chapman, a country music singer/songwriter, was nominated for Modern Country Male Vocalist of the Year, Modern Country Male Artist of the Year, Modern Country Male Entertainer of the Year, and the Male Fan Choice Award. Criteria for nomination includes talent, skill, material, and professionalism, with each nomination subject to a lengthy review process by a team of industry leaders, according to the Josie Music Awards website.
Chapman has balanced his budding music career while also battling an exceptionally rare esophageal disease called Achalasia. The 22-year-old songwriter has endured many medical operations and procedures to minimize the effects of the disease, but ultimately has seen little relief.
Traveling to specialists in Baltimore, Md., Mineola, NY, and Duke University Hospital in Durham, Chapman has been told that his condition is even more complicated than the typical Achalasia case, as his disease not only deteriorated the condition of his lower esophageal sphincter, but also his upper esophageal sphincter, which makes eating normally nearly impossible.
To the surprise of many, Chapman’s voice has stayed strong, despite the various medical procedures and interventions surgeons have performed on his esophagus.
“I feel truly blessed to be recognized with such a high honor and can’t wait to use this time in Tennessee to network and establish connections with other artists and professionals in the industry,” says Chapman.
Chapman, a native of Whiteville, NC, has a new release, “Plus One,” available on iTunes, Amazon, and the Google Play Store. After performing an earlier release, “Lead the Way,” at Duke University Hospital’s Cancer Center during a 16-day hospital stay, the video inspired nearly a million views on social media and has been shared on NBC’s “Early Show Today” “Nightly News with Lester Holt,” and The Washington Post.
Chapman’s success on the stage is no surprise as Catawba’s music programs continue to be nationally recognized with In Tune Monthly citing Catawba as one of the best music schools in their February 2019 edition and Zippia ranking Catawba’s music program as third among top colleges and universities for music majors in North Carolina.
