ABOUT

The Full Story

Reggae-rock wasn’t supposed to come out of Nashville, Tennessee.

But somewhere between Broadway cover gigs, psychedelic spiritual searching, surf dreams in a landlocked city, and two musicians falling in love almost immediately after meeting on a downtown bar gig, Worthy of Dawn was born.

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Formed by husband-and-wife duo Thomas and Myka DesChamps, Worthy of Dawn is a Nashville-based reggae rock band blending soulful reggae grooves, alternative rock energy, jam-band improvisation, and emotionally raw songwriting into a sound that feels both uplifting and deeply human. Their music pulls from influences as wide-ranging as 311, No Doubt, Incubus, Dave Matthews Band, Switchfoot, classic rock, southern soul, and psychedelic jam culture — all filtered through years of performing together and searching for something spiritually real.

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The band’s name itself comes from their middle names: Worthington and Dawn.

For Thomas, music had always been tied to a deeper search for meaning. Before moving to Nashville, he spent years immersed in psychedelic culture, surf culture, jam bands, and spiritual exploration — experiences that eventually left him convinced there was more to life, music, and human connection than most people realize. But instead of running from those questions, he carried them into the music.

Meanwhile, Myka’s relationship with music began almost from birth. Raised in Nashville around her grandfather’s longtime guitar shop, Mike E’s Guitars in LaVergne, Tennessee, she grew up surrounded by musicians, classic rock records, rhythm, and performance. Though naturally shy as a kid, music was the thing that pulled her out of her shell. She was constantly dancing around the house, putting on little performances, memorizing songs in the car, and surprising people with how fearless she became once music started playing. Long before joining a band, she dreamed about being on stage — drawn to performers who could make people feel something larger than themselves.

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Their paths finally crossed in 2021 during a Broadway fill-in gig at Rippy’s in downtown Nashville. Thomas was playing guitar one night and drums the next. Myka showed up that weekend feeling discouraged, emotionally drained, and unsure of herself — but still got on stage and performed anyway.

A few days later, Thomas asked her to play tennis.

Within months, they were inseparable.

Within a year, they were married.

And somewhere in the middle of all of that, Worthy of Dawn slowly evolved from Broadway cover gigs into something much more personal.

For years, Thomas and Myka grinded through Nashville’s nonstop live music circuit, playing hundreds of shows while slowly piecing together the sound they had been chasing all along. Along the way they found the rest of the band almost accidentally — drummer Jared Micéal, whom Thomas had first met years earlier during a random Uber ride, bassist Josh Bean with his unconventional six-string jazz-funk approach, and Kentucky-born guitarist Bruce Colin, whose bluegrass and southern rock influences added yet another unexpected layer to the project.

At first, the music was all over the place — rock, jam music, spiritual songs, extended improvisation. But over time, the threads began connecting naturally.

Then came another “coincidence.”

While exploring directions for the band, Thomas crossed paths with reggae and dancehall producer/manager David Eng, known for his work with artists including Snow, Buju Banton, Inner Circle, Diana King, and Beenie Man. The connection immediately clicked. Eng recognized something unique in the band’s fusion of reggae grooves, rock energy, improvisation, and spiritual depth, eventually introducing them to legendary producer Paul Orofino, known for his work with KISS, Blue Öyster Cult, Mountain, and The Cars.

Together, they began shaping the sound that Worthy of Dawn feels they were always moving toward: reggae rock with the soul of a jam band, the vulnerability of alternative music, and the energy of a live rock show.

That journey eventually led the band to record inside a historic church in Hartsville, Tennessee later transformed into a recording studio by Orofino himself. The atmosphere of the building — quiet, reflective, and full of history — became woven into the DNA of the record.

But underneath all of the storylines, genres, and unlikely timing, Worthy of Dawn is ultimately a band about connection.

Connection to people.
Connection to truth.
Connection to God.
Connection to the strange feeling that maybe some moments in life aren’t random after all.