HEAVENS TO BETSY! JACKSON DEAN BEGINS SURREAL NEW CHAPTER DELIVERING NEW SINGLE AND ANNOUNCING SOPHOMORE ALBUM:
ON THE BACK OF MY DREAMS
Adventurous New Album Arrives September 6
Pre-Save HERE
Listen to “Heavens To Betsy” NOW HERE
NASHVILLE, TN (August 2, 2024) – Jackson Dean today delivers his next single, the studio version of his live show staple and fan-favourite, “Heavens To Betsy,” as he announces his sophomore album, On The Back of My Dreams. Set to be released September 6 (via Big Machine Records), the 13-track project is a layered body of work that leaves listeners with things to ponder. Pre-order the album, including CD version, HERE
Already one of Nashville’s most intriguing artists, with the new project Dean embarks on an impressive and bold new chapter. Taking his gritty, rambling highwayman spirit fans have come to expect to new heights, Dean plays with turn of phrases, biblical references, soaring guitars and blink-and-you-might-miss subliminal messages to construct big, wide-open songs that demand equally bone-shaking vocals.
Each song is a vision and together completes the picture: Jackson Dean is a man dreaming of truly living—and truly living that dream. Across the 46-minute set, you find a man in relentless pursuit of witnessing every single thing that life has to offer during his time here on earth—taking in every experience, feeling, sight and looking it in the eye. Dean worked with his bandmates, some of Nashville’s finest musicians and producer Luke Dick to tackle concepts of freedom, solace, pain, youth, mortality and the things that haunt and creep into our subconscious.
“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 and each song on this project has a little bit of that magical surreal feeling…its drawn from a lyric in the song ‘Jane,’ this kind of otherworldly, misty tune that immediately embedded into my brain,” shared Dean. “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.”
Officially his next single, “Heavens To Betsy” is a stand-out which places Dean in the shoes of a regret-filled man attempting to send a transmission from the beyond to right the wrongs of his past and seek redemption with his daughter. The song has struck a deep chord with listeners of all ages who have found a cathartic connection to its characters and its soul-stirring plea for atonement.
“’Heavens to Betsy’ is like the little song that could. We wrote it and never thought it’d see the light of day, but I started playing it on radio tour to get it out of my head… and kill time and I saw a grown man break down and cry to it. That’s an image that will hit you like a ton of bricks. So, we started incorporating a bigger version of it 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,” explained Jackson Dean. “Just the other day someone told me that their father died 11 years ago and hearing ‘Betsy’ gave them the closure they’ve been seeking. That’s the reason we do this.”
Going from a 19-year-old Jackson hearing the expression “heavens to Betsy!” for the first time and being struck with a flash image of a man sitting on the outskirts of heaven, trying to communicate with his daughter via a CB radio, to becoming his third radio single because of fierce fan reaction, the unexpected journey of “Heavens To Betsy” encapsulates that surreal aura of On The Back Of My Dreams and takes a gruff from the opposite side of living that carpe diem spirit and its consequences.
Co-written with Benjy Davis, and Driver Williams, “Heavens To Betsy” finds a man finally addressing the things he once couldn’t bear to face and takes listeners on an emotional journey starting out sincere but reserved, backed by light acoustic guitar. By the chorus, words begin to flow out of him as his comfort grows and the song swells until the despair bursts out alongside a piercing electric guitar that continues to build and build until its final breath.
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
“Heavens To Betsy” follows Dean’s US Top 10 sophomore single “Fearless” and his US No. 1 debut single “Don’t Come Lookin’,” from his debut album Greenbroke. The visualiser for “Heavens To Betsy” will be released on Monday, August 5.
This summer, Dean will take his talents across the US as direct support for the GRAMMY® Award-winning ACM and CMA Entertainer of the Year Lainey Wilson on her Country Is Cool Again Tour. More information, including tour dates, can be found at https://www.jacksondeanmusic.com/.
ABOUT JACKSON DEAN:
One of Nashville’s most intriguing artists with his strong gravel-toned vocals, wayward spirit, intentional songwriting and overall mystique, the fast-rising singer/songwriter Jackson Dean is quickly earning a reputation for his impressive live show and thought-provoking, lyric-driven music. The young talent burst on the scene in 2022, showing people how real music can be with his atmospheric, musically-forward debut album Greenbroke that featured his debut single, “Don’t Come Lookin’” (which became the fastest debut to reach No. 1 in 2022 and cemented Jackson as the youngest solo male Country artist to reach the top of the charts with a debut) and his Top 10 follow up single “Fearless (The Echo).” The demand for Jackson skyrocketed after landing on Pandora’s Ten for 2023 (all genre), Spotify’s Hot Country Artists to Watch 2023, Apple Music’s Country Risers, the CMT Listen Up class of 2023, CRS New Faces 2023, Amazon Music’s 2023 Breakthrough Artists to Watch: Country Class as well as a slew of other artist to watch lists and nominations. A vocalist who truly thrives on stage (as evident in his Live From The Ryman album), the Maryland native has leaned hard into touring, wowing audiences and building a passionate fanbase that connects on a deeper level. Because of that connection and crowd passion, his live show stand out “Heavens to Betsy” has evolved to become his latest single—and lead track from his forthcoming sophomore album On The Back Of My Dreams, arriving September 6 (via Big Machine Records).
Beginning an impressive and bold new chapter, the 23-year-old old soul is set to deliver a textured, experiential body of work, that is layered in meanings, giving listeners plenty to think on. Each song, born from a daydream vision, together takes you on an emotional journey and completes the concept of the album: Jackson Dean is a man dreaming of truly living—and truly living that dream. The multi-instrumentalist and skilled artisan whose pastimes include making leather goods, wood-burned art and disappearing into the woods to sleep under the stars, brings a sense of adventure to his craft. Constructing big transcendental, swelling songs that demand an equally bone-shaking vocal performance, across On The Back Of My Dreams, Dean delivers an aspirational and captivating vocal performance that is striking, distinctive and stimulating, with both swagger and intellect.
Following an early career of local performances in his hometown, Jackson has joined bills with superstar acts like Toby Keith, Miranda Lambert, Brantley Gilbert, Kane Brown, Jake Owen, Brooks & Dunn, Lee Brice, HARDY and Brothers Osborne and found himself on the bill for credible events like Austin City Limits and Stagecoach. The young talent recently wrapped big tours with Eric Church, Luke Bryan, Blake Shelton, and Jon Pardi as well as his first headlining tour (Head Full of Noise Tour) and is going on tour with Miranda Lambert and Lainey Wilson this summer.