The Road to Dawn
There’s something wild and beautiful about finally arriving at a moment you once only whispered about to yourself in the dark. Something that feels both surreal and deeply familiar, like stepping into a dream you forgot you built with your own two hands.
My debut album, The Road to Dawn, is more than a collection of songs.
It’s the story of a girl who started singing as a child… who wrote her first real song in 2012… who carried notebooks and heartaches everywhere she went… who kept writing even when no one was listening yet. It’s the story of ten years of trying, striving, pausing, returning, and never letting the spark die.
It’s the story of me finally saying, I did it. I made it to dawn.
The Early Years – When the Songs First Found Me (2012–2014)
I started writing music on the piano when I was in 1st grade, but never connected piano playing with singing until around 2012. I picked up the guitar in college as a self-taught fun side hobby, but didn't really know how to make everything click together. It wasn't until I met a very inspirational musician James Lee Stanley, that I finally could write an entire REAL song!! WOW! I wrote my first lyrics, and paired them with a passionate melody. I just knew something inside me needed to come out. That song is now lost to the ages, but it opened the door to everything that followed.
By 2013 and 2014, the songs came in waves:
Apple Tree
Waterside
True Blue
Constantly on My Mind
Kelcy’s Song
It Must Be Love
Brown Cat
To You I Call
Treacherous
It’s the Way
Most of these lived quietly in notebooks, phone recordings, or whispered moments of courage. But they were the roots—tiny sparks that kept reminding me: You are meant to write.
The Spark Becomes a Flame (2014–2017)
In 2014 and 2015, something shifted. I didn’t just write songs—I started becoming a songwriter.
A Lone Reply
Open Your Eyes
Destiny
Forever
You’ll Be
Romeo and Juliet (With Me)
Dance If You Want To
Treasure Chest
These were the years I stepped onto stages for the first time. Open mics. Living rooms. Anywhere someone would listen. My voice grew. My confidence grew. My list of songs grew. It was so inspiring, but I was missing a fundamental piece… How could people listen to my music? Well, they couldn't; I needed an album.
From the playing, more musician connections and inspiration, more songs started to flow from my heart and the stories of others in my life.
Train Song (Wanderlust)
Fatal Attraction
Night Sky
When You Say Goodbye
And each one felt like a small piece of the puzzle that would one day reveal what kind of artist I could be.
A Song That Marked a Turning Point (2019)
In 2019, I wrote, recorded, and released my first official single: Lost & Found.
That song was a promise. A promise that I wasn’t done. A promise that someday I’d complete the thing I dreamed about the most—a full album. This song was written, recorded, and released from my tiny apartment in San Francisco in 2019 during the peak of COVID. From there, life took turns and eventually put me down in Normal, IL. There I was, looking at my life goals and finally determined enough was enough… it was time! I would find a recording studio and make the album!
Meanwhile, the craft of a songwriter doesn't end; it keeps going. I kept writing, even when life shifted, and dreams were underway.
Unwritten
Turning Point
Wandering
Memories
You’re My World
Not every song found its way into the album… but every one of them helped shape it.
The Album Begins: Building The Road to Dawn (2022–2025)
July 2022:
I walked into Rock Solid Studios in Dunlap, Illinois, and said, “I’m ready.” That’s when The Road to Dawn officially began.
For years before that, the songs lived in fragments—lyrical notes, voice memos, melodies that hit me while driving, harmonies that showed up at night. But in 2022, they finally started turning into something real. I hired incredible studio musicians who helped me bring my vision to the “page” so to speak. Jimmy, my studio engineer, brought his experience and brilliance to the table, and with my voice, vision, lyrics, and chords, we knew we had a masterpiece in the making. To make that happen, we needed a team, and Andy (Acoustic Guitar), Jeremy (Drums), Randy (Bass), Tim (Acoustic Guitar), and Josh (Acoustic Guitar) brought that into each song. I am only a singer, pianist, and acoustic guitarist, so I could never create the version of my music that I could hear in my head with the whole band. As an incredible team, we built the album as you hear it today. Thank you.
October 2025:
The album artwork began—another dream finally taking shape. I wanted a VINYL!
December 2025:
After more than a decade of writing, refining, doubting, believing, recording, and becoming the artist I always wanted to be…
I released my first album.
A decade of magic in the making.
The road to dawn finally opened.
Why “The Road to Dawn”?
Because this journey has been long.
Because the night lasted years.
Because there were times I thought I’d never complete the thing I started.
Because dawn represents arrival, clarity, and the soft light of something finally beginning.
This isn’t just an album.
It’s a celebration of persistence.
A love letter to my younger self.
A thank-you to every version of me who kept going when no one else saw the vision.
And Now… This Community Begins
I live in Bend, Oregon now—singing in homes, tiny venues, living rooms, and wherever people gather to listen. My hope for this album is simple:
- That the people who hear it feel connected.
- That the songs remind you of your own stories.
- That the ballads of life make you feel understood, moved, or maybe even healed.
This is only the beginning.
I’m building a small, tight-knit community of listeners who want music that feels like truth—raw, emotional, lyrical, and real.
If you’re here reading this… you’re already part of that story. Make sure you sign up for the newsletter, support my work, and come find me live sometime!
Thank you for walking The Road to Dawn with me.
More songs.
More stories.
More dawns ahead.
— Aliki Samone