The C2C Sit Down with Jackson Dean
This week Jackson Dean returns to Europe as he heads to Berlin to play at this years C2C Festival, where he will be part of the opening nights Bluebird Café event at Passionskirche before heading to the Uber Eats Music Hall on Friday night to perform on the main stage. Although not playing the main stage at the London weekend, Jackson will be hosting the stage with Bob Harris before taking over the Saturday night afterparty at the Indigo. Having first met up with Jackson back in 2023 at the first Highways Festival, we caught up with him to look ahead to his latest trip back to our shores.
Hey Jackson. How are you doing?
Not bad, yourself?
Doing alright. Thank you for taking the time.
Absolutely
Right, I'm going to have to start at one very specific point for this.
Okay
We're going to go back three years to the Royal Albert Hall. How far have you feel you’ve come since that show?
It's pretty crazy what we've been able to do since then. That's still not just for me, but for my band as well, one of a few very core memories of being on the road. I'll never forget it. There was two standing ovations in a 30 minute set, and I'll never forget it. It was incredible. That same spirit has been carried through the rest of our touring over there across the sea.
Since then, you've been back now multiple times. Was that moment a huge motivator to really kickstart your presence in Europe?
100%. I knew when I got to dreaming about where I wanted to go and whatnot, I always dreamed of playing across the sea. Whether they would have me or not, I'd give it a go. When I was a little kid, I never thought of that. I was just thinking of music, and then you start dreaming more. To play The Albert Hall, man, it's like so many people that we idolise that have been idolised by every musician on the planet has played there. It was a big part of like, oh, it can be like this. Oh, we should get over here, man.
Hey Jackson. How are you doing?
Not bad, yourself?
Doing alright. Thank you for taking the time.
Absolutely
Right, I'm going to have to start at one very specific point for this.
Okay
We're going to go back three years to the Royal Albert Hall. How far have you feel you’ve come since that show?
It's pretty crazy what we've been able to do since then. That's still not just for me, but for my band as well, one of a few very core memories of being on the road. I'll never forget it. There was two standing ovations in a 30 minute set, and I'll never forget it. It was incredible. That same spirit has been carried through the rest of our touring over there across the sea.
Since then, you've been back now multiple times. Was that moment a huge motivator to really kickstart your presence in Europe?
100%. I knew when I got to dreaming about where I wanted to go and whatnot, I always dreamed of playing across the sea. Whether they would have me or not, I'd give it a go. When I was a little kid, I never thought of that. I was just thinking of music, and then you start dreaming more. To play The Albert Hall, man, it's like so many people that we idolise that have been idolised by every musician on the planet has played there. It was a big part of like, oh, it can be like this. Oh, we should get over here, man.
Well, once again, in a few weeks, I get to wind up some people in England because I'll be in Berlin where you’ll be performing on the main stage again. How exciting is it to get that call back to these festivals?
It's wonderful, man. Me and the boys love it. It's an opportunity not everybody gets to do in their lifetime. It's an honour. We went ahead and came over and did our own thing for a minute and proved that we were worth it to a degree. To get the call back is just like, I guess we can say I've quasi have made it. But yeah, it's a great honour.
And then your name moves up the bill a little more each time as well. It's got to be nice to see.
Oh, yeah. Putting the headlines, especially with the set that we got now, man. I mean, our arsenal is just like, so vast. It's going to be a lot of fun.
What's going to be scarier, playing overseas in front of potential new fans, or actually having to do some hosting on the main stage in London? How are your hosting skills?
Oh, my God. I'm so excited. I've never really done anything like this before. I think it's going to be great. Bob and I are a pretty great team together. I mean, for God's sakes, we've tatted each other! It's going to be a fun time. From what I remember the last time, backstage is crazy with everybody running around. I think we'll have some really fun cards up our sleeves for some things in the time we’re on stage.
You have though kept the London crowd happy by doing an After Show Party on the Saturday night. That is bound to be a bit of a hell raising end to a Saturday.
Absolutely, man. I mean, it's going to be a heck of a three days. I'll be playing some of the new stuff that's coming off of this record that's getting out into the world on April 24th. It'll be some new stuff and some familiar stuff. I'm very much looking forward to it.
The last time you were over here, you were hyping up the first release, which came like a week after that tour, and now nearly a year on the albums nearly out. Does it feel like it's been quite a long process to get it all together?
Oh my god, yeah. What makes it feel long is the miles in between and I put down a lot of miles over the course of this project! Of course, on the back of my dreams the last two that I put to put down so many miles and last month feels like a year ago. It's a couple million miles ago, man. But yeah, to be on this side of it, looking back at the making of Magnolia Sage and this whole new territory of music that we're crawling up into. As an artist, I always try to write about what I'm living and what I have here; what I'm living right now is a really awesome piece of life. I'm in my cabin right now. I got a woman downstairs. The dog's laying over there. I got everything I ever dreamed of in the palm of my hand. We just wrote a record about it. It's still vague enough for people to put themselves into the song shoes and see their own story and their own people in it and their own way that they need to see it. That's what I think has always been so important about music is that option to see your own life in it. We're excited to be bringing it over. We’ve always got something new, you know. For a long time, our sets were nothing but unreleased.
I think that was one of the perks of your set sometimes, wasn't it? It was like, is this song ever going to get released that we keep hearing!
Yeah, it's a slippery slope - that's the whole thing of live music. You come to see it in the flesh and you get something that a lot of other people aren't going to get to see.
It's wonderful, man. Me and the boys love it. It's an opportunity not everybody gets to do in their lifetime. It's an honour. We went ahead and came over and did our own thing for a minute and proved that we were worth it to a degree. To get the call back is just like, I guess we can say I've quasi have made it. But yeah, it's a great honour.
And then your name moves up the bill a little more each time as well. It's got to be nice to see.
Oh, yeah. Putting the headlines, especially with the set that we got now, man. I mean, our arsenal is just like, so vast. It's going to be a lot of fun.
What's going to be scarier, playing overseas in front of potential new fans, or actually having to do some hosting on the main stage in London? How are your hosting skills?
Oh, my God. I'm so excited. I've never really done anything like this before. I think it's going to be great. Bob and I are a pretty great team together. I mean, for God's sakes, we've tatted each other! It's going to be a fun time. From what I remember the last time, backstage is crazy with everybody running around. I think we'll have some really fun cards up our sleeves for some things in the time we’re on stage.
You have though kept the London crowd happy by doing an After Show Party on the Saturday night. That is bound to be a bit of a hell raising end to a Saturday.
Absolutely, man. I mean, it's going to be a heck of a three days. I'll be playing some of the new stuff that's coming off of this record that's getting out into the world on April 24th. It'll be some new stuff and some familiar stuff. I'm very much looking forward to it.
The last time you were over here, you were hyping up the first release, which came like a week after that tour, and now nearly a year on the albums nearly out. Does it feel like it's been quite a long process to get it all together?
Oh my god, yeah. What makes it feel long is the miles in between and I put down a lot of miles over the course of this project! Of course, on the back of my dreams the last two that I put to put down so many miles and last month feels like a year ago. It's a couple million miles ago, man. But yeah, to be on this side of it, looking back at the making of Magnolia Sage and this whole new territory of music that we're crawling up into. As an artist, I always try to write about what I'm living and what I have here; what I'm living right now is a really awesome piece of life. I'm in my cabin right now. I got a woman downstairs. The dog's laying over there. I got everything I ever dreamed of in the palm of my hand. We just wrote a record about it. It's still vague enough for people to put themselves into the song shoes and see their own story and their own people in it and their own way that they need to see it. That's what I think has always been so important about music is that option to see your own life in it. We're excited to be bringing it over. We’ve always got something new, you know. For a long time, our sets were nothing but unreleased.
I think that was one of the perks of your set sometimes, wasn't it? It was like, is this song ever going to get released that we keep hearing!
Yeah, it's a slippery slope - that's the whole thing of live music. You come to see it in the flesh and you get something that a lot of other people aren't going to get to see.
This is going to be album number three. Does it get any easier writing, releasing and putting it all together?
No, the busier you get, the harder it gets, you know! Just with this one, I mean, this was a couple of sessions because I just didn't have the time to hold up for a week and do it all. It took a while. They always say you have your entire life to write your first record and six months to write the next one, which is so true because even if it doesn't get released, you've got to make it and get it recorded. If I could put out two records a year, I would! That's just that's not the way it works. Now, I think it used to. I mean, got Cash and Elvis and all those guys they put out, I mean, over their lifetime, I think Elvis was like two hundred odd records. It's wild.
At heart, you're a songwriter. How important is it to have co-writers supporting on these releases now? You've got your own writing credit on every track, but people like Luke Dick are on ten of them.
Oh, yeah. No, when I first started writing in town, I think I was about to turn 18 and I didn't want anything to do with it until I got down here. I was just like, I don't understand what you guys mean. We’re going to write a song together and then I did it. I was like, oh, my God, three brains are so much better than one! Just being young, stupid boy, you know. But it took me a minute to find my circle down here of people that I really enjoyed writing with. Sometimes you get incredible luck on a first write and I'm very fortunate to have Little Outer, my publishing company, and help me build my circle of people that understand who I am and what I'm trying to bring out. When they can bring it out of me, it just happens! Finding people like that is so crucial. When people ask, what do you advise when we come to town? Find your circle, man! Just write, write, write, write, write. Two days, three days, just write. For the first two years when I was at Little Outer, I just did two days and lived at the office pretty much on the couch!
No, the busier you get, the harder it gets, you know! Just with this one, I mean, this was a couple of sessions because I just didn't have the time to hold up for a week and do it all. It took a while. They always say you have your entire life to write your first record and six months to write the next one, which is so true because even if it doesn't get released, you've got to make it and get it recorded. If I could put out two records a year, I would! That's just that's not the way it works. Now, I think it used to. I mean, got Cash and Elvis and all those guys they put out, I mean, over their lifetime, I think Elvis was like two hundred odd records. It's wild.
At heart, you're a songwriter. How important is it to have co-writers supporting on these releases now? You've got your own writing credit on every track, but people like Luke Dick are on ten of them.
Oh, yeah. No, when I first started writing in town, I think I was about to turn 18 and I didn't want anything to do with it until I got down here. I was just like, I don't understand what you guys mean. We’re going to write a song together and then I did it. I was like, oh, my God, three brains are so much better than one! Just being young, stupid boy, you know. But it took me a minute to find my circle down here of people that I really enjoyed writing with. Sometimes you get incredible luck on a first write and I'm very fortunate to have Little Outer, my publishing company, and help me build my circle of people that understand who I am and what I'm trying to bring out. When they can bring it out of me, it just happens! Finding people like that is so crucial. When people ask, what do you advise when we come to town? Find your circle, man! Just write, write, write, write, write. Two days, three days, just write. For the first two years when I was at Little Outer, I just did two days and lived at the office pretty much on the couch!
Once you're finished with this European leg, head home and you're almost pretty much straight out again in Canada with Brad Paisley. Is that quite nice to change between being the headliner to the support act and change up the sets?
Absolutely. A 45-minute set for us is like a 100-yard dash. It's a sprint. It's all killer, no filler. It's hard and fast and just one heck of a right hook, you know. It's fun! We obviously love headlining and taking them on our journey, but when you just got to go get them warm, we'll get them boiling for you! We had a couple last year that we were just like, oh my god, we headlined a lot last year. But we had a couple last year where we were like, oh my god, it's over already!
Does that make the set list a bit tricky for these? On this run, you've got Berlin, where it's going to probably be about an hour or so, London an hour, and instead then going back for 45 minutes or so. Is it getting trickier?
Oh my god, yeah. It's because you're like, we need energy, but new stuff that we want to play, then stuff people know, also different energy and growth. It's just so many different angles to look at what you put in the set list. I've always wanted to get to the point where on a weekend, you have an acoustic night, you have a little bit bigger of a night, and then you have a rock night, like Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and you buy the ticket, depending on which show you want to come see! I'd love to start doing that here in the very near future, but yeah, it's getting hard. It's getting real hard!
Well, I'll pre-warn you, I think the UK will always want Heavens to Betsy. There's no escaping it, I'm sorry.
Oh man, yeah, it's crazy that song went and did what it did. Just, yeah, it's an incredible, incredible song.
Do you think there's any songs that you're going to get bored of playing anytime soon, or is it still just every song feels fresh? If you could do every song, you'd do it?
You would think that by now, Don't Come Looking is like, okay, but it's not. Not long after it went to number one, it evolved, and I started just swinging it a little different. I mean, it's still a stomp, but you would think something that I've been playing that long would, but it doesn't. Every time you drop into it, you're like, all right, muscle memory, take over, and let's watch the crowd, and enjoy playing a guitar. I mean, obviously, at the full band shows, you get them all, but even at guitar pools it's so fun. Even Betsy, I mean, I've played Betsy, I don't know how many times, but still, when you drop into that verse, you're like, and here we are. It's just like, this is right.
Well, I can't wait to hear both in Berlin, I'm not gonna lie, and the following week in London, I get to be greedy, and I get to see it twice, so I'm not complaining!
Oh, I'm so excited. It's gonna be a great trip, and I can't wait to see you over there, man.
Thanks very much, Jackson, appreciate it and we will see you very soon.
All right, cheers, man, have a good day.
C2C: Country to Country will take place in Berlin and Rotterdam over the weekend of on Friday 6th to Sunday 8th March where you can full more details about the German event on their WEBSITE or on INSTAGRAM & FACEBOOK.
The event then heads to the UK for the following weekend where London, Belfast and Glasgow will host the showpiece of the country music calendar which you can more details and ticket information on their WEBSITE and socials (FACEBOOK INSTAGRAM & TIKTOK)
Absolutely. A 45-minute set for us is like a 100-yard dash. It's a sprint. It's all killer, no filler. It's hard and fast and just one heck of a right hook, you know. It's fun! We obviously love headlining and taking them on our journey, but when you just got to go get them warm, we'll get them boiling for you! We had a couple last year that we were just like, oh my god, we headlined a lot last year. But we had a couple last year where we were like, oh my god, it's over already!
Does that make the set list a bit tricky for these? On this run, you've got Berlin, where it's going to probably be about an hour or so, London an hour, and instead then going back for 45 minutes or so. Is it getting trickier?
Oh my god, yeah. It's because you're like, we need energy, but new stuff that we want to play, then stuff people know, also different energy and growth. It's just so many different angles to look at what you put in the set list. I've always wanted to get to the point where on a weekend, you have an acoustic night, you have a little bit bigger of a night, and then you have a rock night, like Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and you buy the ticket, depending on which show you want to come see! I'd love to start doing that here in the very near future, but yeah, it's getting hard. It's getting real hard!
Well, I'll pre-warn you, I think the UK will always want Heavens to Betsy. There's no escaping it, I'm sorry.
Oh man, yeah, it's crazy that song went and did what it did. Just, yeah, it's an incredible, incredible song.
Do you think there's any songs that you're going to get bored of playing anytime soon, or is it still just every song feels fresh? If you could do every song, you'd do it?
You would think that by now, Don't Come Looking is like, okay, but it's not. Not long after it went to number one, it evolved, and I started just swinging it a little different. I mean, it's still a stomp, but you would think something that I've been playing that long would, but it doesn't. Every time you drop into it, you're like, all right, muscle memory, take over, and let's watch the crowd, and enjoy playing a guitar. I mean, obviously, at the full band shows, you get them all, but even at guitar pools it's so fun. Even Betsy, I mean, I've played Betsy, I don't know how many times, but still, when you drop into that verse, you're like, and here we are. It's just like, this is right.
Well, I can't wait to hear both in Berlin, I'm not gonna lie, and the following week in London, I get to be greedy, and I get to see it twice, so I'm not complaining!
Oh, I'm so excited. It's gonna be a great trip, and I can't wait to see you over there, man.
Thanks very much, Jackson, appreciate it and we will see you very soon.
All right, cheers, man, have a good day.
C2C: Country to Country will take place in Berlin and Rotterdam over the weekend of on Friday 6th to Sunday 8th March where you can full more details about the German event on their WEBSITE or on INSTAGRAM & FACEBOOK.
The event then heads to the UK for the following weekend where London, Belfast and Glasgow will host the showpiece of the country music calendar which you can more details and ticket information on their WEBSITE and socials (FACEBOOK INSTAGRAM & TIKTOK)
