As musician makes waves around the world, she’s headed home for Arts Fest
READ MORE
Centre County festival weekend 2026
It’s that time of year in Centre County — tents, food trucks and stages are popping up for events like the Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts and the People’s Choice Festival. Find full coverage below.
Expand All
Though musician Caryn Dixon travels often to Nashville, she considers Happy Valley home. As the rising country-Americana star tours the world for concerts, she looks forward to performing in State College for the Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts.
“This festival to me represents our hometown,” she said.
Since launching herself into the country music scene in 2023, Dixon has accumulated hundreds of thousands of listeners. Earlier this year, Music City Melodies named her the No. 1 Artist to Watch in 2026. Yet no matter how far her music career takes her, Dixon hopes to keep singing for audiences at home.
Her career, however, is about more than just music. Many of Dixon’s songs address domestic abuse, and are meant to empower people suffering in harmful relationships. Recently, Dixon partnered with the Gabby Petito Foundation, which aims to prevent domestic violence, for a “Break the Silence” event in Nashville.
“I have dedicated a large portion of my career now to be a voice for women that don’t feel like they have one,” Dixon said.
From Happy Valley to Nashville
Growing up in State College and Greensburg, Dixon dedicated herself to finding — and sharing — that voice. As a teenager, her dad often drove her to Pittsburgh, where she performed on the Gateway Clipper Fleet, a riverboat tour. Her commitment to music continued throughout her time at Penn State, where often arrived to class exhausted from having stayed up all night writing songs.
After moving to Chicago for a consulting job, Dixon formed a band. That band was about to go on tour when it broke up. Soon, life interfered with songwriting. Dixon moved back to State College, married, had children and performed occasionally at local venues, but ultimately abandoned her ambitions to make music a full-time career.
“I just thought that I wasn’t supposed to do that anymore,” she said.
Then, in 2023, a friend from State College nudged her into the industry after promising Dixon’s demo to a Nashville music executive. At the time, Dixon had a modest Instagram following and no demo. Still, she sensed an opportunity, and hastily recorded a selection of original songs for John Esposito, former chairman emeritus of Warner Music Nashville.
Esposito liked what he heard, and encouraged Dixon to move to Nashville to pursue music. So for the past three years, Dixon has driven to and from Nashville — a nearly 22-hour journey, round trip — twice a month. As an independent, professional artist, she runs a team of musicians and staff with her partner, Nick Gates.
Her friends and family from home have given her the encouragement she needs to withstand the demands of an intense industry and an exhausting lifestyle.
“Everyone in State College has just been so supportive,” Dixon said.
Connection through storytelling
Dixon’s music has sent ripples beyond her hometown.
“Bird in a Cage,” which tells the story of someone trapped in a harmful relationship, has resonated with people around the globe, even inspiring some to recognize their own experiences of abuse.
Several women have written to Dixon saying the song inspired them to leave an abusive relationship. Dixon said that one of them, a woman from the UK, got a tattoo of a bird flying out of a cage in honor of the song.
Dixon plans to meet that fan while on tour in England.
“We’re probably just gonna be sobbing,” she said.
These connections motivate Dixon to continue telling painful but important stories. Through her songs, she hopes to share a message of persistence with listeners in Happy Valley and beyond.
“If you can break free of the people that are making you small, there is so much happiness and light on the other side,” she said.
Dixon will perform as a trio during Arts Fest at 1:30 p.m. Thursday at Sidney Friedman Park. For a full schedule of Arts Fest performances, visit the festival’s website.
