An up-and-coming country star talks about faith, fame, and finding his sound.
Eighteen year-old country singer Trevon Dawson, from Cole Camp, says he has always had a guitar in his hand. He was born into a family of musicians, but it wasn’t until high school that Trevon realized he wanted to pursue music as a career, leading him to compete on NBC’s The Voice as a senior.
Trevon’s father taught him to sing at the age of 11, a practice that became a daily routine for him. As a sophomore in high school, he started performing at the local farmers’ market, playing for free and receiving publicity that would kickstart his career.
After three years of gaining recognition and seeking out paid opportunities locally, Trevon decided to audition for The Voice at 15 years old. By age 17 in 2024, he had made it through the rigorous audition process and became an official competitor for season 27.
Competing with a group of 48 vocalists total, Trevon made it to the top 30 vocalists before being eliminated from the show.
Now a high school graduate, Trevon plays gigs throughout Missouri and the rest of the United States with his band. He is also recording an album. He plans to pour his time and energy into his music and do construction work on the side.
Q | What was it like being on a television show?
A | It was the most well-oiled machine I had ever seen. It was absolutely amazing. I wouldn’t have had it any other way. I got a lot of contacts there. The Voice is like a huge family. That’s the best way to explain it, because everybody there is just so supportive, and you have a huge team behind you, pushing you forward and showing you what you’re doing wrong and how to correct it. And it’s a super helpful thing.
Q | How do you prepare to perform for large audiences?
A | How I dealt with the nerves before I went on and performed is something that I have on all of my merch now called “push-ups and prayers.” Before every show now, I do push-ups and I pray, because push-ups get the adrenaline down. You’re getting that energy out and then praying. What that does is just calms your mind and stabilizes you. So that keeps me in a good space to actually be able to perform and do my best with my voice and with my performance, because people are there to have a good time.
Q | What are you up to now?
A | After The Voice, I blew up. I’m now doing shows consistently. Recently, we had four shows in a week. I did one gig where I was a headline show. I was able to put out four of my songs, which I’m super excited for. Soon we’ll be going down to Nashville, and we’re going to be recording the album, which is pretty exciting.
Q | How has music impacted your life?
A | I was away from God for about five years of my life, and I’ve only recently just come back to God from the experience at The Voice.
I texted my sister at some point in the process and just told her what’s been happening. She asked me if I had prayed about it, and then encouraged me to do so. She sent me a song called ‘God’s Not Done with You.’ I cried to that song. And after that I was like, ‘Let’s look back into this.’
I feel like music is such a powerful thing, not just to me, but for other people too. I found clarity and peace of mind. I’ve started listening to a lot more Christian music, going to church, reading my Bible, and I’m growing stronger in my faith, which I’m super excited for.
With my experience and with a lot of my family singing, The Voice helped me do more things than I can count. If I’m having a bad day, I’ll grab my guitar and start playing. It just instantly makes me feel better. I just thought that I was really alone before, but I found a new sense of family there.
This article was orginally published in the September 2025 issue of Missouri Life.
