A former Baker County Biology teacher is pursuing a singing career and he’s doing it on national TV.
Macclenny native Dylan Gerard is competing on NBC’s “the Voice.” Last week he made it into the competition by passing the show’s first round, known as blind auditions, where judges don’t see the contestants but only hear them sing. Gerard said the experience was surreal.
“I was so nervous. And then the doors open and I hit the stage, started singing and I got through the first line and a lot of the nerves just washed away, and I said, ‘Ok, I’m already here, I’m doing it. Just go ahead, just kind of leave it all out there.’”
He sang James Arthur’s “Say You Won't Let Go” and was chosen by two of the judges to continue in the competition.
Gerard is no stranger to the stage and his family has a lot to do with that. His parents have headed the drama department at Baker County High School for years and Gerard says that’s where he got his start.
“I grew up, my siblings and I, we grew up in the theatre just doing little things. I started off as Toto in the Wizard of Oz in a dog costume walking around on my hands and knees. And then I kind of moved on up,” he said.
Gerard decided to set music aside for a while after he began taking care of his sister who suffered a traumatic brain injury in a car accident. But eventually found his way back to music while caring for his sister.
“She is big into musical theatre and she loves singing. This gave me a chance to connect with her musically. So I would play stuff for her and she would sing along when she could. She didn’t remember a whole lot but if I played a song, she would listen to the song, hum the melody and remember the lyrics,” he said.
Gerard says this was his motivation to continue singing, and after a friend signed him up for the audition he just decided to go for it.
Gerard will perform on “The Voice” again on Monday, October 16th at 8pm.
Contact reporter Kelton Givens at newsteam@wjct.org, 904-358-6317 and on Twitter @Kelton_Givens
