By Joel Langton
The 830 Times
Dan Wesley White returned from his first trip to Nashville without a Josie Music Award, but the Del Rio singer-songwriter brought home something nearly as important — confirmation his music belongs on a national stage.
White, band director at Garfield Middle School, attended the 12th annual Josie Music Awards Sunday at the Grand Ole Opry House after receiving two nominations for “When I Drink Baby You Know Things.”
The song, performed by White and Kendall Shaw, was nominated for Vocal Event of the Year — Male/Female Duo. White also received a nomination for Song of the Year — Country Male, Division D.
“For my music to be nominated, that shows I must be doing something right,” White said.
White is a U.S. Army veteran and former Army Band member who has spent much of his professional life teaching music. Away from the classroom, he has continued writing and recording his own blend of traditional country, Texas swing, Tex-Mex and rock.
The nominations took White somewhere he had never been before — Nashville.
“It was my first time in Nashville, so it was all new to me,” White said. “It’s basically just like a twice-as-big Austin to me. It seemed like the nightlife and everything was a big old strip of bars and the music scene.”
White arrived Friday after completing his teaching responsibilities in Del Rio. Two days later came the red carpet, the lights and a seat inside one of country music’s most celebrated buildings.
White was seated on the floor in Section 8, toward the side and rear of the Grand Ole Opry House, but he still had a clear view of the ceremony and its live performances.
“I could see the stage from where I was at,” White said. “We were able to see the acts like Tony Orlando and Vince Gill when they performed pretty good.”
Orlando, known for “Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree,” received the Josie Music Awards’ Icon Award. Gill, a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame, received the Country Icon Award.
For White, the most meaningful part of the experience was learning how the nominees are selected.
White does not know who submitted his work for consideration. Once entered, however, the music was evaluated on its merits instead of through public voting or an online popularity campaign.
“Somebody nominates you, and then they send in your work and all your information,” White said. “It’s based on your work itself. It’s not based on who you know or a popularity contest.”
White said the judges did not know the nominees personally and based their decisions on the submitted recordings.
“They just listen to what you make, and then that’s how they nominate you for the award,” White said. “It’s all based on merit, not popularity.”
More than 100,000 submissions were considered for the 2026 awards, making White’s place among the finalists especially meaningful.
White described the Josies as the independent music industry’s answer to the Grammys.
“This is the unsigned artist Grammy,” he said. “These are all independent artists. Nobody is signed to a major record label.”
White did not make the trip alone. Shaw and the woman who co-wrote the song with White attended the ceremony. White’s wife also accompanied him, and his oldest son drove from Virginia to join the family.
The Vocal Event of the Year — Male/Female Duo award went to Chris Chitsey and Bee Smith for their country duet, “Summer Before the Fall.” Tyler Salsman won Song of the Year — Country Male, Division D for “Wrong Things Right.”
Although White did not win either category, the weekend changed how he plans to approach the business side of his music. He now plans to enter more of his recordings in industry competitions.
“Now I’m going to start entering my stuff and not having other people nominate it,” White said. “This is the first time I’ve ever tried it, and luckily for me, the first time I tried it was the first time I got nominated and sent there.”
The experience added another chapter to a musical life White’s Garfield Middle School students and Del Rio football fans are only beginning to discover.
Before every Rams home football game at Walter Levermann Ram Stadium, White’s “My Other Family” plays over the stadium speakers. The song pays tribute to Friday night lights, football teams and the marching bands that help create the atmosphere surrounding high school football.
Many students and fans recognize White’s voice but do not immediately realize the man singing is the Garfield band director.
“I get to hear my song, and I get to see people’s reaction,” White said. “They don’t realize it’s me.”
That sometimes leads to entertaining exchanges with students and community members.
“It’s always fun to see people say, ‘Oh, that sounds like you,’” White said. “I go, ‘Yeah, it is.’ A lot of students don’t realize I’m serious. I say, ‘Yeah, I sing stuff.’”
Asked to choose between hearing his music inside Ram Stadium and sitting inside the Grand Ole Opry as a two-time national award nominee, White could not select only one.
“Kind of both,” he said.
One experience placed him among independent musicians from across the world inside one of country music’s most famous venues. The other lets him watch his own community discover the middle school band director they know has another musical life.
For White, both offer evidence he is doing something right.
