Nashville's rising star Jackson Dean has just dropped his latest single, ‘Heavens To Betsy,' a fan-favourite from his live shows. Alongside this release, Dean has announced his highly anticipated sophomore album ‘On The Back of My Dreams' set to release on September 6 via Big Machine Records. The 13-track album is available for pre-order now.
Already one of Nashville’s most intriguing artists, Dean's new project promises to take his gritty, rambling highwayman spirit to new heights. ‘On The Back of My Dreams' showcases his ability to play with turns of phrase, biblical references, soaring guitars, and subtle subliminal messages, creating expansive songs that demand equally powerful vocals.
Each song on the album paints a vivid picture of Dean as a man fully committed to living his dreams. Spanning 46 minutes, the album reflects on themes of freedom, solace, pain, youth, mortality, and the subconscious. Dean collaborated with his bandmates, some of Nashville’s finest musicians, and producer Luke Dick to create this layered body of work.
“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,” shared Dean. “Each song on this project has a little bit of that magical surreal feeling. 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.”
‘Heavens To Betsy' stands out as Dean's latest single, portraying a regret-filled man seeking redemption with his daughter from beyond. The song has deeply resonated with listeners, providing a cathartic connection to its characters and their soul-stirring plea for atonement.
“‘Heavens to Betsy' is like the little song that could,” explained Dean. “We wrote it and never thought it’d see the light of day, but I started playing it on the radio tour to get it out of my head and saw a grown man break down and cry to it. That’s an image that will hit you like a ton of bricks. We started incorporating a bigger version 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.”
Co-written with Benjy Davis and Driver Williams, ‘Heavens To Betsy' is an emotional journey that begins with light acoustic guitar and builds to a crescendo of despair and piercing electric guitar. The song's unexpected journey from an offhand expression to a deeply impactful single encapsulates the surreal aura of ‘On The Back Of My Dreams.'
On The Back Of My Dreams Track List:
- ‘Big Blue Sky' – Jackson Dean, Brandon Aksteter, Rich Kolm, Sean Mercer
- ‘Duct Tape Heart' – Jackson Dean, Casey Beathard, Luke Dick
- ‘Talkin’ To Backroads' – Jackson Dean, Luke Dick, Ryan Tyndell
- ‘Daddy Raised' – Jackson Dean, Tucker Beathard, Bryan Simpson, Ryan Tyndell
- ‘Long Goodbye' – Jackson Dean, RL Burnside, Trent Dabbs, Luke Dick, Jeff Hyde
- ‘Real Real' – Jackson Dean, Luke Dick, Josh Osborne
- ‘Heavens To Betsy'– Jackson Dean, Benjy Davis, Driver Williams
- ‘Train' – Jackson Dean, Brandon Aksteter, Luke Dick, Rich Kolm, Sean Mercer
- ‘Free' – Jackson Dean, Blake Chaffin, Luke Dick
- ‘Sweet Appalachia' – Jackson Dean, Luke Dick, Ryan Tyndell
- ‘Jane' – Jackson Dean, Luke Dick, Ryan Tyndell
- ‘Heaven' – Jackson Dean, Luke Dick, Laura Veltz
- ‘Another Century' – Jackson Dean, Brian Koppelman, Jon Sherwood
