Jackson Dean is Redefining What it Means to Be a Young Country Star
When Jackson Dean took over Backstage Country alongside Elaina Smith, one thing became crystal clear: debuting early in the country music scene certainly gave him a lot of advantages. This…
When Jackson Dean took over Backstage Country alongside Elaina Smith, one thing became crystal clear: debuting early in the country music scene certainly gave him a lot of advantages. This week, Dean reminisces about his early days as a Nashville newbie and proves to everyone that his success didn’t come from luck.
Jackson Dean on Coming to Nashville for the First Time
Dean, who is originally from Maryland, left home to pursue a career in the music industry. He recalled his first time coming to Nashville. “Before I came to Nashville, I didn't want to write with anybody else. I was like, ‘What? We're not doing that.’ I had written enough prior by myself to do it, and then I did it for the first time, and I was, like, ‘Oh my god. Two brains are so much better than one in this!’ What you don't understand until you do it, and truly one of the things I love about this town is that in the room, the dudes on the other side of the table are there with you, like in such a really great way.”
He elaborated, “You are relying on people's wisdom, you are relying on another heart, mind, and soul, and you’re feeding off of each other. It's a constant ‘What if it's this, so we can get to this and this and this?’ To be creative with other creatives was something that I didn't have before I came down here. I put together a band and was making music, but not like this. That's one of the things I love about this town. For real, writers have each other's backs. It's just a thing that doesn't even need to be communicated. It's like we're all here, man, trying to write a song. Let's feed off each other.”
On His Preparation for a Show
Smith asked how Dean is mentally preparing before a show. The “Wings” singer replied that there isn’t much of a difference from when he’s preparing to record a song in the studio. “The fuel that you have to burn to get to a show is not too far from what you put into it when you're in the studio. The reason we went so hard on record is because of all the emotion. Let be to let live. So, you kind of walk into it with that and just like, ‘Yeah, I have to do this justice, and this has to happen 100% or else the song isn't going to happen.’”
Jackson Dean’s week on Backstage Country proves that you don’t have to have decades under your belt to make country music that hits hard and sticks around. Don’t miss him from November 3 to 7!
