While traveling with Ed Sheeran and performing in some of the biggest stadiums in Europe, rising pop star Dylan has always considered the Latitude Festival to be her spiritual home.
At the age of 10, she performed there for the first time, improvising songs on a piano that had been left in the woods for anybody to use.
A throng suddenly emerged behind me while I was improvising, she claims.
But Latitude was also the site of a horrifying realization that ultimately served as the impetus for her breakout EP, Purple.
Unreliable boyfriend
A few years prior, she was in front of the main stage when a fellow student came up to her and said, "I'm so pleased you dumped your lover."
She had not, but she was curious.
Oh, why is that, she questioned.
Her companion answered, "Because he's cheated on you with like nine other females."
Dylan converted that tragedy into victory this year by singing songs about her nefarious boyfriend within meters of the location where she first learned of his betrayal.
She admits later, "I can't lie, it felt great."
Frankie Boyle challenges the culture of cancellation
Lewis Capaldi claims to be "too indolent" to record a new album.
Festival visitors are hoarding to save money.
The singer-songwriter was given the name Dylan by her parents when she was born Natasha Woods in the little Suffolk town of Bures 22 years ago.
When the family was on the road, her father would blast Guns N' Roses, Aerosmith, and AC/DC classic rock to introduce her to music.
She was so taken with the music that he purchased her a copy plywood guitar, which she painted pink and yellow and carried onto the kitchen table to perform at random.
Dylan adds, "I would stand there and yell, "Hello Wembley!"
When she was ten years old, she began listening in on her brother's guitar lessons and then slipping downstairs to practice the scales.
"I learned it a lot faster than he did. Then he gave up "She chuckles.
Unattainable goal
She suffered academically in school and found refuge in music before being diagnosed with Irlen Syndrome, a neurological disorder that impacted her eyes and made reading challenging.
She rapidly started creating her own songs after picking up the piano and guitar by ear. However, her dreams were hindered by a slew of professors who persuaded her that music was an unattainable ideal.
She admits, "It absolutely knocked me for six." "I started to feel quite uneasy and unconfident. I've never wanted to perform in public."
She was fortunate to meet Ben Weston, a teacher who recognized the potential in her "dark, dismal" songs, after switching schools.
Will Hicks, a Grammy-winning music producer (Ed Sheeran, David Guetta, James Blunt), received a CD of her songs from him, and after hearing it, he decided to schedule Dylan for a recording session.
The end product was the Purple EP, a collection of electro-pop ballads that mimicked Lorde and Billie Eilish's dramatic and dark dynamics.
She received praise from Radio 1, BBC Introducing, Spotify, and other stations for the album's first single, Sour Milk.
She bursts onto the stage at Latitude with a guitar draped low around her hips and thrashes through a string of spit-flecked pop tunes, including Lovestruck and Girl Of Your Dreams, before performing Paradise City by Guns N' Roses.
She explains, "On my first two EPs, I was having so many identity difficulties.
"I was attempting to sound like other people, but it is plainly ineffective.
"I've finally realized I'm a rock star trapped in a pop star's body.
"Let's write some rock and roll, I'll say as I enter the recording studio. I then create catchy pop music. My worst curse is that."
A cynic would point out that record companies are encouraging many pop singers to pick up guitars and "go rock" because of Olivia Rodrigo's popularity.
But Dylan was born with a musical gene. In reality, she attempted to compose a song in the vein of AC/Highway DC's to Hell with the upcoming track Lovestruck.
"I adore the way I'm writing right now because of this.
"I'll start off with a very strong rock song as a reference, and it'll turn out to be a completely different song, but it'll still have a little of that flavor to it," the author said.
Bad lovers are nevertheless a source of inspiration. One of her most popular streaming songs, You're Not Harry Styles, is a biting attack on an ex who had inflated self-esteem.
She screams, "To you, I'm an excessively emotional, disposable, overthinking stupid blonde."
Although you're not exactly Harry Styles, you believe you can perform better.
Dylan chuckles, "The odd thing about the song is that I composed it on the day we split up.
"I was furious and badly needed my authority back since I knew my relationship was ending.
"So, after writing the song, we broke up when I got home.
"The contradiction in that song is what I find so appealing.
He receives regular compliments, but at the same time, he is told, "You can't do better than me.
I hope to convey that kind of emotion in my next songs.
Main tour
With a demanding schedule of non-stop touring, Dylan has developed a growing fan base for those impending albums.
She has already embarked on her own headline tour as well as tours with Bastille, Tate McRae, and Ed Sheeran this year.
In fact, she's been so busy that in 2022, she only got it back to Suffolk twice.
After Latitude, Dylan just wants to spend one "day in the garden with my dad" before returning to work, showing how draining it is to pursue music full-time.
When your profession is your life's love, maintaining relationships is quite difficult, she claims.
"Recently, I've had a lot of problems with friends and other stuff."
She shares a manager with Ed Sheeran, who fortunately was there to offer some helpful guidance.
She says, "He told me about the five-person rule.
"All you need is the number of best friends you can count on one hand.
"So everything is currently a learning process.
"I'm learning how to amuse audiences, how to be myself on stage, how to function on little to no sleep, and how to take care of myself.
However, I'm overjoyed and eager for others to hear my music.
And if ambition can lead to success, Dylan will become a huge star.
She smiles, recognizing her vanity, and says, "I viewed Wembley Stadium as a warm-up - I want to lead my own performance there one day."
You must be your own biggest supporter, right?
Social Plugin