Artist Statement

Artist Bio

Chad OIson is a musician from South Beloit, Illinois and born in Honolulu, Hawaii. Chad has been building his music career in the Dubuque scene since 2017 where he took his first steps as a solo singer songwriter at the open mic nights at “The Blue Room”. Chad began to build his portfolio of original songs during this time and eventually released his debut album “Graduation Day” in the summer of 2022.

Chad currently hosts the weekly Open Mic Night at The Smokestack every Thursday from 8pm-12am and can often be found performing with his band “Skinny and the Shakes”. Founded in the winter of 2023, The Shakes have burst onto the Dubuque scene in an exciting fashion. In only a handful of months, they have played shows at all of live music staples in Dubuque, including The Smokestack, The Lift, The Fox Den Motel, and have been guests for “Music at the Library” hosted by the Carnegie Stout Library in Dubuque.

---

featured work