Willem Dicke is a Washington, DC-based singer/songwriter/guitarist whose original songs have won awards from organizations such as Billboard Magazine, the Songwriter's Association of Washington and UNISONG. His live performances and songwriting succ [+]Willem Dicke is a Washington, DC-based singer/songwriter/guitarist whose original songs have won awards from organizations such as Billboard Magazine, the Songwriter's Association of Washington and UNISONG. His live performances and songwriting success have earned him feature stories in local publications and on television news.
Having displayed a passion for music since early childhood, Dutch-born Willem was raised in Houston, TX and attended the University of Texas at Austin, where he began playing live music at local venues. Moving to Washington, DC to attend graduate school at American University, Willem played solo at area bars and small concert venues, opening for acts such as Vertical Horizon.
Willem released his first CD in 1997, the self-titled Willem Dicke, which won several songwriting awards. In 1998, Willem and three of his musical colleagues formed "Dusk To Dawn," a band that played both cover and original songs at local venues. The Washington Area Music Association (WAMA) nominated Dusk to Dawn for best rock band in 2000. In 2001, the band split up and Willem joined "The FBI", a quirky cover/original band whose unique performance antics won them praise from several local media.
Willem began work on his second CD, "Familiar Ground," in late 2000. Based on the submission of several completed songs, Willem was invited to perform at the prestigious 2001 Philadelphia Music Conference as a showcase artist. Billboard Magazine awarded Willem second place for songwriting in the rock category for "Candlelight Turned Fire" in its 2001 contest. Four other songs from the new CD also won awards in the Billboard contest, having been selected from thousands of entries. Willem attended the Nashville, TN ceremony where he received recognition for the winning songs. Other prestigious songwriting awards include fourth place in the rock category for the 2001 UNISONG Song Contest and the 2000 Mid-Atlantic Song Contest for "Someone Somewhere", as well as third and forth place for "Standing There" and "Too Soon", respectively, in the 2001 Mid-Atlantic Song Contest. Selected from thousands of entries in each contest, the songs from Familiar Ground have earned a truly notable reputation in the songwriting community.
With recognition from the top
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