The Sit Down with Jackson Dean
Earlier in the year, Jackson Dean returned to London as the main stage host at this years C2C Festival. Fast-forward four months and Jackson is back in the capital as he takes on his biggest UK crowd yet in Hyde Park on a day that would see Garth Brooks return to the UK for the first time in 30 years. It's been a busy few months though with the release of his latest studio album Magnolia Sage in April, produced alongside Luke Dick. In the last few years, Jackson has been no stranger to the city having played headline sets, playing C2C, being part of Highways Festival at The Royal Albert Hall and now American Express Presents BST Hyde Park.
Just before he took to the Rainbow Stage presented by British Airways, we sat down backstage for a long overdue in-person catch-up.
Thank you for taking the time, it’s great to chat in person again.
Thank you
I've decided, whenever I get to chat to you in person, last time was the Albert Hall, this time it's backstage in Hyde Park, we're doing quite well for unique venues and we definitely get the sunshine this time round.
Yeah man, we drove past there earlier today. That was one of the best 30 minutes of my life.
Is this another one of those events that you want the concert poster, as I know you said you wanted one from Highways Festvial.
Oh, you know it! I got Royal Albert Hall framed, I want to frame this one too. It's been crazy man. I've been riding around, back and forth between here and the stage and stuff, and I'm just like, oh I've seen a tonne of footage from here and the nerves have started. Maybe it’s more the adrenaline has kicked in, but we're super stoked man to play here. It's going to be a really awesome 45 minutes, and it's going to feel like a blink, we've been doing 75 minutes over here for about a week now, so it's just going to feel like it’s over before we even start. be like, it's over, shit.
Does this feel like the really big bang to finish off this run of European shows?
Yeah man, it's been a crazy time over here so far and to finish like this, there's 70,000 people out there. This is incredible.
First, I have to apologise, because my partner, she's chosen Kip today over you as shes over in Essex at State Fayre were he’s performing.
Oh man! Tell her here is better!
What's it been like this last week, the two of you just hitting up this European tour?
It's been awesome man. Kip was a big part of the beginning of me, him, Drake White, Randy Howser, Lee Bryce, people like that were really crucial for me growing up, and I've always thought Kip was an awesome dude - just free spirited in the way that I admire, just with the wind and going on his own way. Luke, my producer, had written a bunch of songs with him, and songs I really love, and is a part of what drew me to Luke. We played together in the States, but to join him here has been great. He was like, I've never been to Munich, I've never been to Zurich, yada yada, and to go there, in those places with him, and have it be like it was, cause it was awesome. They were clapping, and my god, just to be on tour with your heroes, is a really awesome thing.
Obviously, today, there's one name at the top on the poster. Has it sunk in yet, will it ever sink in?
I mean, it's been 30 years since he's been here. I can tell you, he's stoked to be here, I know he's stoked to be here. I've met him a couple of times, and since then, he knows who I am, and has talked to me about my schedule and my touring schedule, better than I know it! He's a really incredible dude, but he's done some of the biggest shows in the world, you know. It's mad.
Just before he took to the Rainbow Stage presented by British Airways, we sat down backstage for a long overdue in-person catch-up.
Thank you for taking the time, it’s great to chat in person again.
Thank you
I've decided, whenever I get to chat to you in person, last time was the Albert Hall, this time it's backstage in Hyde Park, we're doing quite well for unique venues and we definitely get the sunshine this time round.
Yeah man, we drove past there earlier today. That was one of the best 30 minutes of my life.
Is this another one of those events that you want the concert poster, as I know you said you wanted one from Highways Festvial.
Oh, you know it! I got Royal Albert Hall framed, I want to frame this one too. It's been crazy man. I've been riding around, back and forth between here and the stage and stuff, and I'm just like, oh I've seen a tonne of footage from here and the nerves have started. Maybe it’s more the adrenaline has kicked in, but we're super stoked man to play here. It's going to be a really awesome 45 minutes, and it's going to feel like a blink, we've been doing 75 minutes over here for about a week now, so it's just going to feel like it’s over before we even start. be like, it's over, shit.
Does this feel like the really big bang to finish off this run of European shows?
Yeah man, it's been a crazy time over here so far and to finish like this, there's 70,000 people out there. This is incredible.
First, I have to apologise, because my partner, she's chosen Kip today over you as shes over in Essex at State Fayre were he’s performing.
Oh man! Tell her here is better!
What's it been like this last week, the two of you just hitting up this European tour?
It's been awesome man. Kip was a big part of the beginning of me, him, Drake White, Randy Howser, Lee Bryce, people like that were really crucial for me growing up, and I've always thought Kip was an awesome dude - just free spirited in the way that I admire, just with the wind and going on his own way. Luke, my producer, had written a bunch of songs with him, and songs I really love, and is a part of what drew me to Luke. We played together in the States, but to join him here has been great. He was like, I've never been to Munich, I've never been to Zurich, yada yada, and to go there, in those places with him, and have it be like it was, cause it was awesome. They were clapping, and my god, just to be on tour with your heroes, is a really awesome thing.
Obviously, today, there's one name at the top on the poster. Has it sunk in yet, will it ever sink in?
I mean, it's been 30 years since he's been here. I can tell you, he's stoked to be here, I know he's stoked to be here. I've met him a couple of times, and since then, he knows who I am, and has talked to me about my schedule and my touring schedule, better than I know it! He's a really incredible dude, but he's done some of the biggest shows in the world, you know. It's mad.
This time round we get a full show. Back in March, you did a C2C after-party show, and Berlin C2C got the full experience. Fortunately for me, I arrived at Uber Eats Music Hall just a few minutes before you went on stage. I had a hectic journey from leaving work at 2:30 to getting to Berlin in time, but that set you put on on the Friday night was truly incredible and no doubt converted a few people there to be big fans.
Oh, dude, thank you for hauling ass and getting there for us.
You’ve said today is shorter than what you would usually do over here. Has it been tough to pick the songs for the set, because obviously you wanted to do the new music, you've got old songs people want to here and we can’t forget the unreleased stuff we all love.
It gets harder every day, really. I’ve got three records out now, plus all the stuff that we play that's not out! You guys love the stuff that’s not out! We were looking at it today while we were up there on stage and I was just like, there ain't nothing we can do here! I was just trying to find the right things to play
With Magnolia Sage being so fresh, have any tracks stood out for you as something you now feel like you have to play live and will be a regular for your sets no matter the length?
Um, Mississippi, Wildfire, people have been digging Blacktop and people have been digging Tell Me.
I think Wildfire's the one I'm looking forward to, so I'm hoping that's there today.
Maybe the intro!!
Okay, that's what I like to hear, as that's the one that to me stood out as one that with a full band production behind will go down a storm.
It's huge, it's really huge, and it's a great way to kick off a set, and so much energy.
Having now put out this third album, does it put a bit more pressure on you to feel like you need to be thinking about the next one or trying to hold tight and soak in every moment – like sitting in Hyde Park!
Well, we're getting back writing in July and August and this fall and I hope to be cutting soon-ish. We've got some places, we've got a few things that feel right and it'll be a cool place that we end up on this next one. This record requires control and finesse and pinpoint to a degree. What I can tell you is we're going to rock on the next one.
You had 11 writing credits, with Luke on 10 too. How good is it then to have found that perfect link now and that person you can 100% trust going into the writer's room?
Luke’s a kindred spirit, I think he understands what's in me sometimes better than I do myself. There's a great deal that I won't say in a room; he's just a brilliant man and he knows what I'll fight for and what I won't. It works both ways because I know how his brain works too. He's truly like a big brother to me and he's written so many hits over the years, it's just incredible. Plead the Fifth, The Bull, that's just Kip’s stuff. He's a big blonde dude, I'm a big blonde dude, and it just makes sense, man, it's just like, oh, I could have been your kid brother! He's incredible, he's super intelligent and was a freaking professor in New York for years before he came down and started writing in Nashville. It's just, it's crazy.
Oh, dude, thank you for hauling ass and getting there for us.
You’ve said today is shorter than what you would usually do over here. Has it been tough to pick the songs for the set, because obviously you wanted to do the new music, you've got old songs people want to here and we can’t forget the unreleased stuff we all love.
It gets harder every day, really. I’ve got three records out now, plus all the stuff that we play that's not out! You guys love the stuff that’s not out! We were looking at it today while we were up there on stage and I was just like, there ain't nothing we can do here! I was just trying to find the right things to play
With Magnolia Sage being so fresh, have any tracks stood out for you as something you now feel like you have to play live and will be a regular for your sets no matter the length?
Um, Mississippi, Wildfire, people have been digging Blacktop and people have been digging Tell Me.
I think Wildfire's the one I'm looking forward to, so I'm hoping that's there today.
Maybe the intro!!
Okay, that's what I like to hear, as that's the one that to me stood out as one that with a full band production behind will go down a storm.
It's huge, it's really huge, and it's a great way to kick off a set, and so much energy.
Having now put out this third album, does it put a bit more pressure on you to feel like you need to be thinking about the next one or trying to hold tight and soak in every moment – like sitting in Hyde Park!
Well, we're getting back writing in July and August and this fall and I hope to be cutting soon-ish. We've got some places, we've got a few things that feel right and it'll be a cool place that we end up on this next one. This record requires control and finesse and pinpoint to a degree. What I can tell you is we're going to rock on the next one.
You had 11 writing credits, with Luke on 10 too. How good is it then to have found that perfect link now and that person you can 100% trust going into the writer's room?
Luke’s a kindred spirit, I think he understands what's in me sometimes better than I do myself. There's a great deal that I won't say in a room; he's just a brilliant man and he knows what I'll fight for and what I won't. It works both ways because I know how his brain works too. He's truly like a big brother to me and he's written so many hits over the years, it's just incredible. Plead the Fifth, The Bull, that's just Kip’s stuff. He's a big blonde dude, I'm a big blonde dude, and it just makes sense, man, it's just like, oh, I could have been your kid brother! He's incredible, he's super intelligent and was a freaking professor in New York for years before he came down and started writing in Nashville. It's just, it's crazy.
Sitting here now, is it a case of you just want to keep picking up the phone any time, because these concerts are just getting big, as we said, 70,000 here today, does it still just feel like those pinch me moments of, hold on, you want me to come to England and you're paying me to come here?
Yeah, I mean, when you're moving, you're like, okay, I got to get there, got to get it, but then you catch these little moments of realisation and they fly past you like rocks and you just got to go pick that up and put it in my pocket and be like, okay, I still got to go that way. We still get a lot of pinch me moments - I was just back at the Matterhorn two weeks ago and I was just like, thank you God for letting me see this again. I don't even know anybody back home that has ever been to Switzerland before and then you get to finish your entire month with this, it's just, how do you even dream for that?
Now, the good bit for you is we've obviously now starting to get country gigs at Wembley Stadium and at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, so I guess you still can say you've got stadiums to play here, that's one of the last things to tick off!
Don’t worry, we got some places to hit, to come back to for sure. I didn't realise how much actually goes on in London on a given night and how many people are playing across the city and how many giant shows are happening at any given time. Growing up in New York felt like that to a degree with all the Broadway stuff and the people playing in the Garden, but here there's so many places to play. Personally, I want to go back to Royal Albert Hall, it's so bad, so bad, I want a live record from there, yeah.
I think we need an Abbey Road recording as well.
We actually tried the last time and we literally did not have the time, but yeah, we want to get in there real fast. Even just acoustic, set up one mic, we're good.
That's all you need!
That's all we need. Just to be in the room, we'll make it sound good.
Well, all I can say is enjoy today and soak in every moment because these moments don't come around too often.
Yes, sir.
Good luck out there and enjoy.
Thank you
Yeah, I mean, when you're moving, you're like, okay, I got to get there, got to get it, but then you catch these little moments of realisation and they fly past you like rocks and you just got to go pick that up and put it in my pocket and be like, okay, I still got to go that way. We still get a lot of pinch me moments - I was just back at the Matterhorn two weeks ago and I was just like, thank you God for letting me see this again. I don't even know anybody back home that has ever been to Switzerland before and then you get to finish your entire month with this, it's just, how do you even dream for that?
Now, the good bit for you is we've obviously now starting to get country gigs at Wembley Stadium and at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, so I guess you still can say you've got stadiums to play here, that's one of the last things to tick off!
Don’t worry, we got some places to hit, to come back to for sure. I didn't realise how much actually goes on in London on a given night and how many people are playing across the city and how many giant shows are happening at any given time. Growing up in New York felt like that to a degree with all the Broadway stuff and the people playing in the Garden, but here there's so many places to play. Personally, I want to go back to Royal Albert Hall, it's so bad, so bad, I want a live record from there, yeah.
I think we need an Abbey Road recording as well.
We actually tried the last time and we literally did not have the time, but yeah, we want to get in there real fast. Even just acoustic, set up one mic, we're good.
That's all you need!
That's all we need. Just to be in the room, we'll make it sound good.
Well, all I can say is enjoy today and soak in every moment because these moments don't come around too often.
Yes, sir.
Good luck out there and enjoy.
Thank you