Bio
“Pedal steel is the main instrument in the church I grew up in,” says DaShawn Hickman. “Where most churches have organs that lead their services, ours are led by pedal steel.”
One of the foremost contemporary practitioners of Sacred Steel, a blues-gospel tradition dating back to the Pentecostal-Holiness churches of the 1930s, Hickman grew up not only hearing the pedal steel in the tiny House of God church his family attended in Mt. Airy, North Carolina, but also listening to his mother play lap steel in their home.
Hickman picked up the instrument at the age of 5, when his mother put it down to concentrate on ministering, and by the age of 12 his local reputation as a pedal steel player was such that he was regularly asked to play at other area churches.
Dashawn has most recently spent time traveling with Cirque du Soleil as a member of the Songblazers band. A new country themed show. First of its kind. More recently you would have seen Hickman on AGT (America’s Got Talent) alongside fellow musician Steve Ray Ladson, place forth overall.
Hickman has also graced the cover of many notable music magazines: Blues Blast and All about Jazz as well as featured in Vintage Guitar Magazine. He was also recognized as one of the country’s best upcoming artists with nominations from the International Blues Association and Blues Blast Music Awards.
He has worked with many notable artists such as Charlie Hunter, Shamika Copeland, Jerry Douglas, Will Kimbrough, to name a few. Be sure to check him out when he’s in town!
The Pedal Steel Gets Its Resurrection
When DaShawn Hickman was 4 years old, living just 32 steps from the tiny granite House of God church in Mount Airy, N.C., he picked up a lap steel his uncle had built for his mother. Stretching the electric guitar across his tiny knees for the first time, using a D-cell battery as his slide, he traced the hymns his mother sang.
DaShawn Hickman
Sacred steel is that unique vein of gospel music highlighting pedal-steel guitar and delivering a powerful sound that can shake the rafters. On his debut, Drums, Roots & Steel, DaShawn Hickman works with bassist/producer Charlie Hunter, two percussionists, and singer/wife Wendy Hickman to conjure music of staggering beauty and grace. VG checked in with DaShawn to unpack the heavenly sounds within.
UNCSA receives $10.1 million gift to establish American Roots Music Institute
UNCSA has received a lead gift of more than $10.1 million — the largest single gift in UNCSA history — from Winston-Salem residents Randall "Randy" and Kamalakshi "Kamu" Dishmon to establish the American Roots Music Institute in the School of Music.
Featured Interview – DaShawn Hickman
In September, blues fans gathered in Peoria, IL for the 2023 Blues Blast Music Awards weekend. The two night affair featured a "who's who" line-up of nominated musicians. There were plenty of memorable performances. One artist who definitely made an indelible impression both evenings was pedal steel guitarist DaShawn Hickman.
DeShawn Hickman to unveil the power of the sacred steel guitar tradition at Boonerang
BOONE — It has been an amazing year for steel guitar master DaShawn Hickman. After beginning his musical journey in the church when he was about four years old, Hickman has risen up to become a power in the blues, folk, rock and gospel music worlds.
DaShawn and Wendy Hickman - Faculty Profile
Wendy and DaShawn Hickman are a married couple of sweetheart musicians, rooted in gospel roots and soulful tradition. They share a home in Mt. Airy, North Carolina.
CD review: DaShawn Hickman with Charlie Hunter – Drums, Roots & Steel
The use of horizontal played-with-a-slide steel guitars in black Pentecostal churches, a practice dating back the 1930s, handily illustrates the complex, mutt-like nature of American musical cultures.
Living Blues #290 Top 10 Reviews: DaShawn Hickman – Drums, Roots & Steel
DaShawn Hickman is a new name on the scene, bringing some fresh interpretations of some classic gospel songs out of his Keith Dominion House of God church in Mount Airy, North Carolina.
My 50-Year Infatuation with Pedal Steel Guitar and the Renegades Who Pushed Its Evolution Beyond Country Music
Back in my carefree, whiskey-drinking, pot-smoking collegiate days during the early '70s at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, I fell under the spell of an Austin-based Texas swing group that had come to town to perform on campus in the Student Union.
DaShawn Hickman in Palo Alto
The timeless sound of DaShawn Hickman's pedal-steel guitar can take an audience to infinite places in a night.
