NASHVILLE — Rockingham native Dante Bowe is now a Grammy Award-winning artist.
Bowe, a gospel vocalist and songwriter, was one of the singers on “Old Church Basement,” a live collaborative recording with Elevation Worship and Maverick City Music, which won for Best Contemporary Christian Music Album at the 64th annual Grammy Awards.
“I give God all the glory, and I feel like this win is for every black kid that feels misunderstood because of where they come from and what they’ve gone through,” Bowe, a 2011 graduate of Richmond Senior High School, said in a press release on the win. “This is bigger than me, it’s for the culture. Breaking records is the new norm. Now I feel like I can accomplish anything!”
According to the press release, Bowe wore a Dolce & Gabbana white gabardine suit styled by Charles Rose for the music industry accolades at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
As a writer, Bowe had three songs nominated in the Best Gospel Performance/Song category: “Joyful,” “Voice of God” and “Wait on You.”
Bowe told the RO he wrote “Joyful,” with his friend Ben Schofield, after losing his grandfather in 2020.
That song, which was from his album “Circles,” was named Contemporary Gospel Recorded Song of the year at the 52nd Gospel Music Association Dove Awards — when Bowe was nominated for New Artist of the Year — in Nashville, Tennessee.
“Voice of God,” was co-written with Tywan Mack, Jeff Schneeweis and Mitch Wong, and features vocals by Steffany Gretzinger and Chandler Moore.
“Wait on You,” written by Bowe, Moore, Chris Brown, Steven Furtick, Tiffany Hudson and Brandon Lake and is a single from the award-winning album.
Bowe was also a singer on Maverick City Music’s “Jubilee: Juneteenth Edition,” which was nominated for Best Gospel Album.
Bowe is touring with the Australian Christian pop duo for King and Country in the “What Are You Waiting For” tour, which comes to Charlotte April 16.
Just days before the awards, on April 1, Bowe released his latest single, “Nail Scarred Hands,” which he co-wrote with Ethan Hulse and Chuck Butler.
According to a press release, the song is Bowe’s first solo recording since 2021’s “Circles.”
Read more about Bowe’s music and upbringing here.
Bowe isn’t the first artist born in Richmond County to win a Grammy.
Hamlet-born jazz legend John Coltrane was awarded a posthumous Grammy in 1981 for Best Jazz Instrumental Performance, Soloist for “Bye Bye Blackbird.” Coltrane, who was nominated for a total of eight Grammys, died in 1967.
Rockingham-born Terius “The Dream” Nash has won five Grammys — including Best Rap Song in 2021 for Megan Thee Stallion’s “Savage” — and has received 15 nominations.
