Devin Dawson's playlist includes a number of dichotomies: a few rising country stars, a few icons; a little Blake Shelton, a little John Mayer; a Creedence Clearwater Revival song, a song by ... Justin Bieber? But, you know, Dawson was in a death metal band before becoming a rising country star, so that variety is to be expected.

Dawson's 17-song playlist begins with two fellow up-and-comers: Ashley McBryde and Jillian Jacqueline. The former's "Girl Goin' Nowhere," Dawson says, "pulled me in like a lifeline in the middle of a raging sea and made sure I was warm and that I was goin’ to be okay" when he heard it for the first time.

"It's not the type of love song you would expect," he adds, "because it's about an undying and unwavering love for music."

Jacqueline, meanwhile, has a "unique and confident ability to weave words through melodies [that] is not only alluring but fulfilling," Dawson says. The two co-wrote "I Can't Trust Myself," one of the songs on Dawson's debut disc, Dark Horse, and she provides harmonies on the song, too.

On Dawson's playlist, listeners will also find Sarah Bareilles' "Basket Case," Tim McGraw's "Indian Outlaw" and Judah & the Lion's "Forever, Always." Dawson praises the Music City-bred band as "without a doubt, one of the most unparalleled rock groups (if you can even define them as such) to come out of Nashville in a long time."

"They pump so much energy and emotion into every chord, every anthem and every stomp, that no listener could hope to ever leave uninspired," Dawson adds of Judah & the Lion. ""Forever, Always” is this unique kind of love song that embodies the one-of-a-kind sound that they’ve deemed 'folk-hop-n-roll.'"

You can listen to Dawson's complete playlist below.

Listen to Devin Dawson's Playlist

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