Jackson Dean Scores The Human Experience On Sophomore Album [Interview]

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Jackson Dean. Photo: Sean Hagwell

Rising star Jackson Dean has been bringing music lovers together by breaking the mold since he burst onto the scene, silencing the same venues in which he has rattled the rafters with the vibrant pictures of life painted by his rock-country blend, resilient demeanor and alluringly-adventurous spirit.

In 2022, the Big Machine Records artist turned heads with his debut project, Greenbroke, which features history-making No. 1 “Don’t Come Lookin'” and top 10, Canadian Gold-certified single “Fearless (The Echo),” and kept them pivoted with the release of his Live At The Ryman collection last year. Since then, Dean and his band have continued to captivate crowds across the globe while playing multiple headlining shows, supporting numerous tours and making various festival appearances, amassing more fans with every mile they travel. He recently unveiled his sophomore album, On The Back of My Dreams. Comprised of 13 tracks, all co-penned by Dean, the body of work seeks to score snapshots of the human experience, conceptually intensifying as it progresses. Despite being tinged with detail, the illustrations are malleable to listeners’ varying experiences.

The Odenton, Maryland native began cultivating his writing style at the age of 14. After graduating high school early, he signed publishing deal with Little Louder Music and made the move to Nashville. Once Dean began working with producer and frequent collaborator Luke Dick, among others, he found himself experimenting with phrasing and different musical elements. When in writing rooms today, he often becomes “the interpreter”—absorbing the information, organizing and translating it to his dialect.

Photo: Courtesy of Big Machine Records

“I came down here to give it my all and make music that’s distinct and unique,” Dean tells MusicRow. “To find, get and hone in on the sounds that I love is hard to do. I’m fortunate to have someone who not only understands me, but is willing to go to the places that I want to go to get to where I want to be.”

Distinct is exactly how each On The Back Of My Dreams tune can be described. “They can all stand on their own,” he notes. “With how drastically different they are, I didn’t walk into recording with a specific idea on how to thread the needle through them.”

The project opens with a powerful light from the hopeful “Big Blue Sky,” which gradually starts to fade following current radio single “Heavens To Betsy” and grows dimmer as the title’s muse “Jane” is introduced.

“When I started my career, I wanted feel every emotion [as much I could],” Dean explains. “These songs are operating at the extreme ends of what they are and embody a characteristic that not only lives within me, but within us all.”

He penned “Big Blue Sky” with drummer Sean Mercer, guitarist Brandon Aksteter and bassist Rich Kolm on the way to a gig at Blind Horse Saloon, where its inaugural live performance took place later that night. Inspired by Dean’s late dog and shotgun-rider for 14 years, Carl, the ode depicts a librated pup running over a hill toward the sun. Mercer has also traversed a decade’s worth of miles with Dean and served as his first producer on early works developed in Baltimore. The drummer then brought Kolm into the mix, and Dean connected with guitarist Aksteter at the bar built by his great, great grandfather where he first started playing live. The Maryland-grown group has since built a familial bond that has remained unbreakable throughout the past few years.

“There’s something that happens when we get together,” Dean shares. Brandon is an incredible guitar player. Nobody can do what Rich does on a bass, and Sean is just meat-and-potatoes solid. I’m extremely lucky.”

Alongside multi-instrumentalist Trevor Shipley, they have struck deep chords performing the heartbreakingly-beautiful fan favorite “Heavens To Betsy.” A prime example of excellent storytelling by Dean, Benjy Davis and Driver Williams, the track is narrated from the perspective of a regret-filled man sitting on the outskirts of heaven who is trying to communicate with his daughter via a CB radio. Dean was unsure if the live-show staple would ever see the recoding booth until he saw how much it resonated with the masses it mesmerized.

“I’ve watched tears fall to this song, and it’s crazy to see how much love it’s gotten and how much people, in and outside of the industry, believe in it,” he says “It’s songs of this subject matter that make you look in the mirror and think about what you want.”

Performing live is “one of the biggest parts” of Dean’s life. He, Mercer, Aksteter, Kolm and Shipley strive to give it their all every time they’re under the lights. “There’s no drug like it. There’s nothing on this planet that will give that same feeling.”

One favorite number that Dean is psyched to play in person is “Jane,” from which the title On The Back Of My Dreams is derived. Concocted alongside Dick and Ryan Tyndell, the “witchy little nursery rhyme” is one of the project’s more abstract works and gives him the opportunity to hit notes he doesn’t get the chance to in others. He oozes with excitement for the “ritualistic” atmosphere featuring the entire band’s vocals that its live rendition enrobes the audience in, and details the way the line “keeping me awake on the back of my dreams” stayed swirling in his mind.

“It made me think of that blissful moment when you first open your eyes in the morning before reality hits,” Dean describes. “It was when we started getting all of the mixes back that I found subtle footprints of ‘Jane’ throughout the entire project. Whether it’s the musicality, the way it’s played or the language used, there’s flares of the song’s surrealness in the sonic elements of the rest.”

The collection comes to a close with its oldest track, “Another Century,” which seeks to summarize the soul-stirring journey the listener has been taken on with flashes of memories while the artist accepts that he will not live to see another century. The “pretty little poem,” written with Brian Koppelman and Jon Sherwood, intricately describes moments that Dean has seen and lived himself.

“You cannot say all that is in your heart in one go. I’ve tried and racked my brain on how to do it, and there’s just no way,” he states. “‘Another Century’ is a part of my piece being said—the most I can say in one go.”

In addition to showcasing his growth as an artist and the individual traits of the tracks, he hopes that On The Back Of My Dreams reminds people that we are connected in the feelings and situations we encounter.

“We are meant to feel all of this together,” Dean says. “In my mind, the purpose of all music is to know that we are not alone. The fours words ‘all in this together’ sum up everything that I’ve wanted say.”

He and his band of brothers plan to reiterate that message on the road as they continue supporting Lainey Wilson on her “Country’s Cool Again Tour,” which will make its way to Lubbock, Texas next week ahead of Dean’s Grand Ole Opry performance on Oct. 16.

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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