Jackson Dean To Deliver Sophomore Album In September

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Photo: Courtesy of Big Machine Records

Jackson Dean will deliver his sophomore album, On The Back Of My Dreams, on Sept. 6 via Big Machine Records. The 13-track project features the studio version of his live-show staple, “Heavens To Betsy,” out today (Aug. 2), as well as previously-released numbers “Big Blue Sky” and “Train.”

Entering a bold new chapter, the emerging star has built each tune with turn of phrases, biblical references, soaring guitars and subliminal messages alongside his bandmates, collaborators and producer Luke Dick to tackle subconscious themes of freedom, solace, pain, youth and mortality.

“The title can be interpreted from a few different angles but the face value of that phrase is that in-between state, when you’re in the process of waking up, but reality hasn’t quite set in and each song on this project has a little bit of that magical surreal feeling…its drawn from a lyric in the song ‘Jane,’ this kind of otherworldly, misty tune that immediately embedded into my brain,” shares Dean. “I’ve lived a lot of life and have watched a lot of life be lived, and each of these songs were written from a single frame of life, almost as vignettes, drawn from daydreams, nightmares and everything in between.”

Set to impact country radio on Aug. 19, “Heavens To Betsy,” which the artist co-wrote with Benjy Davis and Driver Williams, finds a man finally addressing the things he once couldn’t bear to face and aims to take listeners on an emotional journey starting out sincere but reserved, backed by light acoustic guitar until a piercing electric portion.

“‘Heavens To Betsy’ is like the little song that could. We wrote it and never thought it’d see the light of day but I started playing it on radio tour to get it out of my head… and kill time and I saw a grown man break down and cry to it. That’s an image that will hit you like a ton of bricks. So we started incorporating a bigger version of it into our live shows and I thought the Live At The Ryman version would be the only place it lived. But once again this song exceeded my expectations… night after night people tell me how it’s helping them through their grief—which is such a beautiful thing,” Dean notes. “Just the other day someone told me that their father died 11 years ago and hearing ‘Betsy’ gave them the closure they’ve been seeking. That’s the reason we do this.”

He is also currently on the road supporting Lainey Wilson’s “Country’s Cool Again Tour.”

On The Back Of My Dreams Track Listing:
1. “Big Blue Sky” (Jackson Dean, Brandon Aksteter, Rich Kolm, Sean Mercer)
2. “Duct Tape Heart” (Jackson Dean, Casey Beathard, Luke Dick)
3. “Talkin’ To Backroads” (Jackson Dean, Luke Dick, Ryan Tyndell)
4. “Daddy Raised” (Jackson Dean, Tucker Beathard, Bryan Simpson, Ryan Tyndell)
5. “Long Goodbye” (Jackson Dean, RL Burnside, Trent Dabbs, Luke Dick, Jeff Hyde)
6. “Real Real” (Jackson Dean, Luke Dick, Josh Osborne)
7. “Heavens To Betsy” (Jackson Dean, Benjy Davis, Driver Williams)
8. “Train” (Jackson Dean, Brandon Aksteter, Luke Dick, Rich Kolm, Sean Mercer)
9. “Free” (Jackson Dean, Blake Chaffin, Luke Dick)
10. “Sweet Appalachia” (Jackson Dean, Luke Dick, Ryan Tyndell)
11. “Jane” (Jackson Dean, Luke Dick, Ryan Tyndell)
12. “Heaven” (Jackson Dean, Luke Dick, Laura Veltz)
13. “Another Century” (Jackson Dean, Brian Koppelman, Jon Sherwood)

Liza Anderson
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