BY LESLEY HASTINGS
As I’ve interviewed rising country star (and all round incredible talent!) Jackson Dean each time he’s visited us here it would have been rude not to chat to him at BST Hyde Park last Saturday, I hope you agree!
He had already told me in March when he was over for C2C what a big deal this show was for him and his band, so now he’s actually here how was he feeling? Has he had a chance to look around the village that’s constructed especially for this run of shows?
“Yes we’ve ridden back and forth a couple of times between our stage and the main stage, I’ve seen snippets and so much footage from here before, the boys are jittery and we are stoked”
Who else is over here with him this time?
“Shannon and my mom and dad, they are all having a good time, my Dad loves the UK. We’ve been having a blast, travelling round Holland, Germany and Switzerland”
I was going to ask how those shows in Europe were, opening up for Kip Moore. I’d imagine their fan bases crossed over to a large extent?
“We had a blast, it was warm over there just like it’s been here! The shows were awesome! And yes, regarding fans, if you dig us you’ll dig Kip Moore and vice versa. It was great, watching all his songs go down in the flesh….we have played with him in the States too a handful of times. And he’s always been part of my life musically, growing up.”
And now you’re playing with him, love it!!
“Yeah! It’s pretty crazy”
I wanted to reflect a bit on Jackson’s C2C experience, where as well as playing an acoustic after-show party he co presented on the main stage alongside the legend that is Bob Harris. That must be an especially poignant memory now that Bob has announced his retirement? None of us knew then that it would probably be his last C2C…..
“Yeah, I mean, I think he knew. When you first meet Bob you just know it’s all about whoever is in the room. And our relationship ever since that had just grown beautifully. I’m so proud to have been up there with him”
Will they keep in touch?
“Oh Yeah! I’ve heard he’s taken a step back but is doing great and had a lot of people checking in on him which is the main thing. I truly love the man”
I mentioned how he lives and breathes music, and how when I was growing up the TV programme The Old Grey Whistle Test was compulsory viewing….had Jackson (being a LOT younger than me!) heard about that one?
“Oh yes, the Whistle Test, of course.”
Since we last spoke Jackson’s latest album Magnolia Sage had made it out into the world. I said I’d reviewed it and summed it up as being a celebration of life and love. Was that the vibe he’d been after?
“Yeah, I feel like on the last record it was me trying to take people to a place, make them see what I was wanting to get after. But with this group of songs I wanted to show a bit more of my life. I’m getting to live a cool life right now, I’m living everything I dreamed of, it’s going swimmingly . I just wanted to let people see that in a way. There’s also some longing for songs and some getting home songs …. I wanted people to see their bit of missing people in the songs too. I wanted it to be broad enough and generic enough for people to put them in my shoes in the songs.”
And sonically it’s so varied…
“Yeah, there’s no two songs the same! The closest is I think ‘Moon’ and ‘Mississippi’. But no, all different which has been fun in the live sets ….it keeps people on their toes, like what’s he going to do next!”
It keeps the band on their toes too…
“Ha, yeah”
So, which tracks are resonating most with fans?
“Everybody’s favourite is different, which is good, but it’s really between ‘Moon’ and ‘Mississippi’ ….”
https://youtu.be/LRZgDUQ65rs?si=zzFkCt9bOJMqJQoI
I’d written down ‘Blacktop Blues’….
“Blacktop has come up quite a bit”
And ‘Be Your Man’ is probably my favourite ever of yours….
“Oh, that’s just a fun one isn’t it”
‘Wildfire’ and ‘Easy’ ….they are my four…
“Easy has been fun to have in the world. People talk to me about that one and say ‘man, it’s like a perfect program’ ”
And which does Jackson and the boys enjoy playing out live the best?
” ‘Wildfire’ and ‘Blacktop’ happen within the first 6 or 7 minutes, they are ones we really look forward to playing. ‘Heart on the Range’ is really fun too, Brandon wrote a big ass solo for the end, it’s beautiful. But also ‘Dust on a Dirt Road’ ” ….
So all of them really!!
“Yes! We’ve been really excited about the album on stage too”
I’d noticed that Jackson also has a track on a new documentary about the life of Greg Allman (and what a life he led!!) ….
“Yes it’s the title track!”
Has he seen it? I hope we get it here….
“A bunch of footage. I was sent rough cuts and stuff. I want to see it when we get back. It’s so cool, Julian Raymond called me about it and said ‘I want you to do this for me’ and I was like ‘sure!’.
Probably quite some time ago now?
“Oh yeah. He was like ‘I don’t know when it’s going to happen ….’ and then it finally happened and I was like ‘what!!’ It feels awesome.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2LycoWEP_AU
I had to wrap things up but said knowing Jackson he’s probably working on new music already that we’ll get to hear at some point….and I was also hoping he’s working on a tour over here soon….
“Oh yeah. That’s yes and yes!”
Ha the right answers!
“It’s so good to see you …..”
It was definitely so good to see Jackson too….both for the chat and the killer set he and the band delivered later on in the day, I’ve heard so many people say it was one of their highlights of the day.
More artist information here –