An Interview with Jackson Dean: "I Have One Of The Coolest Jobs On The Planet"
With his first two albums, Greenbroke and On The Back Of My Dreams, Jackson Dean has carved out a distinctive space in modern country music for himself. Originally from Maryland and now based in Nashville, the singer-songwriter blends country, rock, and Americana influences into a unique sound. As he prepares to bring his music back to Europe with shows in cities like Berlin, Munich, Cologne, and Zurich and ahead of the release of his upcoming album Magnolia Sage, we caught up with Jackson to talk about touring overseas, musical influences, and the stories behind his songs.
HERE'S THE FULL INTERVIEW:
Jackson, thank you so much for taking the time today to speak with us. You're playing some European shows over the next couple of months, including Berlin, Munich, Cologne and Zurich. How does it feel to bring your music to audiences so far away from home?
Jackson Dean: It's a wild experience every time you land on a distant shore. Coming across the sea is awesome. The boys and I have been dreaming about this and what we're doing since we were kids. Just to get to do that and see people in a different country know who you are. It's so thrilling every time. And everybody's so gracious and very nice. It just speaks to how we're more the same than we are different. There are all of us here together.
When you're preparing for a run of shows like this, how do you prepare for the set you bring to the stage?
Jackson Dean: It can get tough. The last time we came over, we did six weeks straight. It was a lot. That's a lot on your vocal cords. Three, four nights a week, the way that I sing. Sometimes you gotta pivot, and you start choosing your lines differently. We have no bounds on stage. It's all free. Tempo's off my boot heel. My drummer, he's watching me. We don't have many bounds, so you can ebb and flow, sing lines a little differently if you want to. But no, it's hard. But mentally, you just gotta get in there.
Do you have a highlight whenever you play a show? Do you look forward to something that happens during the show?
Jackson Dean: There are some really special moments in there. We try to keep it going, good vibes the whole time. “Train“ is a very, very big moment. I'm really excited to do it in this room tonight. It's really awesome. I don't want to spoil it too much for you, but we took it back about 200 years. It's pretty awesome.
You live in Nashville now, the city of country music. However, you are originally from Maryland. What's the most Maryland thing about you?
Jackson Dean: My resolve is to only eat seafood that I pull out of the water. Specifically crabs. Blue crabs are the best in the world. They just are, I'm biased. But we run a trotline back home, and it's a big deal back home. Crab pots are everywhere. Running a trotline will get your heart rate going. It ain't no petting zoo. My specificity about crab meat will always be a thing for me
You are a country boy through and through, but have you ever thought about stepping foot into other genres?
Jackson Dean: Absolutely, 100%. There are so many influences that already cross into what the boys and I do. Just from my musical taste, it's a very wide range. But 100%, I want to do a big string record, orchestral, just super industrial, just going to town, to do records like Adele. Just try to touch it.
A part of it is being versatile and being able to do a lot of different things. There aren't too many things I can't step into and hold on.
Are there things or songs you tried out already that fans have not heard, that you did for your own sake?
Jackson Dean: For a long time, it was 75% unreleased music. But yeah, definitely, we chose songs that weren't ours that we played for a long time because we loved them. There was some Whiskey Myers stuff, which was really influential in my beginnings. It was the first rock show I ever saw when I was 15. It was awesome. Also, Ryan Bingham. You choose someone because you love them.
Are they some of your biggest influences?
Jackson Dean: Some. When I was a kid, it was classic rock and country. My dad did all the usual hits. Once I got my own taste, it started with Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Drake White and Kip Moore, who we're playing with in Zurich, Munich and Cologne. People like that are just putting their heart and soul into it.
Is there anyone you'd like to collaborate with one day?
Jackson Dean: There are quite a few, but I always tell people: Robert Plant. It would be so sick. He's even stepped into the Americana world. You listen to that one record he did, the “Fortune Teller“ record. It's just awesome. That's the way.
Your next record, Magnolia Sage, has no collaborations; it's a completely solo project, which will be out on April 24th. How did you come up with the name of the project, and what was the inspiration behind the album?
Jackson Dean: The inspiration behind the record is my woman. For me, she's the center point of this whole thing. I have everything that I ever dreamed of in the palm of my hand. I have one of the coolest jobs on the planet. A woman, a cabin and a dog, which is just about everything a man can ask for reasonably. But I still have to be thousands of miles away from that. A lot of these songs are the thousand-yard stare, pining for home, and being split between the blacktop and the grass. It's about getting back to her. She is the center point of it.
But with songwriting, when you're in the room, everybody's thinking about the ones that they love and have loved, and how heartbreak songs get written. Everybody's like: “Oh God, high school, man. It tore my heart out“. Everybody's thinking of their own. That's what I think music is supposed to do. It's supposed to let you see parts of your own life, and it's supposed to be a score. It's about people seeing themselves in the shoes of the song.
What song are you most excited for your fans to hear?
Jackson Dean: There is a song that I think could have been written in the 1940s. It sounds like it. It's called “Tennessee Moon“. Back home on stage, we have a giant six-foot moon with my name on it, and it changes all sorts of colors. It's wild. It sounds like it's going to be stripped down, and then it just all comes in. You'll feel your truck doors rattling, and you'll feel the bass in your butt. It's crazy. It's a lot.
You have been in this industry for quite some time now. Are there still sometimes moments where you just think to yourself, “What am I doing here right now“, in a positive way, because you just can't really grasp what's happening right now?
Jackson Dean: It's a lot of pinch-me moments. I've had the opportunities people would kill for. When you're in it, you just got to do it. And then you look back, and you're like: “Oh my God, that just happened“ Just reach back and grab that nugget and put it in your pocket and keep walking. Because you got to keep moving forward.
But there's been a lot of pinch-me moments. I mean, the Ryman, the Opry, Red Rocks. We were just talking about this show the other night. My mother's people are from Cologne, her ancestors. We sold out a show there. And the day of, I was walking around, and I was like: “This is where my great-grandfather walked and prayed and fought“. There's a bunch of folklore about them coming over to the States. It's wild. I won't get into that.
Andy: So you're a little German?
Jackson Dean: Yeah, a little bit.
Can you speak any German?
Jackson Dean: No. Not a lot. “Ich liebe dich” means “I love you,” right? That's about all I got. And “Prost“?
Andy: Yes, “Prost“! But I think that's all you need.
Jackson Dean: And “Dankeschön“, of course.
What advice would you give people who want to enter this industry themselves, who want to be musicians or just work in the music field?
Jackson Dean: Walk your own line. And just like in everything else, love hard. Kindness costs nothing. But mainly, just walk your own line. Always. Surrender to no one.
If someone listens to your music for the very first time today, or after seeing you live, what do you hope they understand about you as an artist? And what do you hope they take away from your performance?
Jackson Dean: That I give it everything that I have to give. That's the big thing. Everybody on stage, firing on all cylinders, giving everything that they have to give in that moment. The songs don't happen otherwise. There's no safety net. You have to go climb the mountain to hit the note. Go get it. But full tilt.
Looking ahead, what are you most excited about for this next chapter of your career?
Jackson Dean: I think it's the new territory that I'm excited for the most. This record has a lot of songs that we don't have anything like in the rest of our catalogue, in the discography. It's really some new territory for us.
Not so much sonically, but musically and subject matter-wise. It's a different tone than Greenbroke and On the Back of My Dreams. That is really intense. It's light-hearted, but it's still got the intent. But I'm excited to see how people see that. There are some really beautiful songs on this record that I think can do some good and heal people.
At THE UNSEEN Magazine, we have curated a playlist with artist recommendations. I wanted to ask you if you have some recommendations you want to put on that playlist.
Jackson Dean: A great one, and they've played all over Europe: “Ain't No Easy Way“ by Black Rebel Motorcycle Club. It's great. It's like a rock/gospel/Americana record. “When the Levee Breaks“ by Led Zeppelin. And “Where Rainbows Never Die“ by The SteelDrivers. One of the greatest fiddle solos of all time. Top three for me. Tammy King of The SteelDrivers also played on a few projects of mine. That's mind-blowing. Those are my three.
Andy: Jackson, thank you so much for taking the time to speak with us.
Jackson Dean: Absolutely, thank you!
INTERVIEW BY
Andy
(Live) music is one of my biggest passions, which is why I enjoy exploring pop culture in my writings. From analyzing albums to reviewing concerts. I'm especially interested in fandom culture, which often comes through in my work.
PHOTOS BY
Lilly Marie
I am a music photographer with a passion for capturing raw emotions and storytelling through live performances and artist portraits. My work focuses on creating authentic and visually compelling moments that connect artists with their audience.
