Bloom into country music hall of fameby Nathan Arneal Dylan Bloom has been rocking stages and festivals around the region for more than a decade, though his latest big show was in a hall. A hall of fame.
Bloom, a North Bend native and 2004 graduate of NBC, is part of the latest class to be inducted into the Nebraska Country Music Hall of Fame. He was notified last April and was officially inducted at a banquet in Kearney in November. The honor caught him by surprise. “I didn’t know if I was at Hall of Fame level,” Bloom said. “I guess I hadn’t really thought about it. I’m having more fun now playing and making music than ever before. I’m absolutely honored to represent Nebraska country music. I love country music. I grew up playing it.” Shortly after his Hall of Fame induction, he learned he was up for a national award, earning a nomination for Male Country Music Artist of the Year at the Josie Music Awards in Nashville, which recognizes independent musicians. “So November was kind of fun after closing up a year of touring,” Bloom said. Dylan isn’t the only Hall of Famer in the family. His grandpa, Greg “Jeep” Bloom, is in the Nebraska Rock and Roll Hall of Fame after a long career of playing rock, country and blues. Playing with his grandfather and father Dean Bloom is how Dylan got his start. One of the earliest public performances was playing at a fundraiser for the North Bend Public Library during Old Settlers in 2009. That inspired Dylan Bloom to start his own band, which recorded an album in 2012 titled Strong is a Small Town. The song “Turn the Radio Up” from that album featured many North Bend references and earned his first radio play. From there, things took off, though it didn’t happen overnight. “I mean, we started out dragging a trailer around and playing small-town bars and built it into playing county fairs and festivals,” Bloom said, “and we just kept on keeping on. Now we’re going to new states and now getting recognized in our own home state as a hall of fame member and getting recognized nationally in Nashville.” Read the full story in the print or e-edition. <<Back to the front page |
