Jackson Dean Is Ready For His Debut Australian Tour: "I Want To See Some Animals That Want To Kill Me."

It has only been three years since Jackson Dean packed up his life in Maryland and moved to Nashville, Tennessee, to pursue a career in country music.

September 14, 2020, was the day Dean finally left his home town. After a year or so of consistently flying back and forth to play shows on the weekend, Dean decided it was time to take the leap.

"After I got a pub deal, it was hop a flight Wednesday night or Thursday, practice with the boys Thursday night, play Friday, Saturday, sometimes Sunday, and then catch a flight on Monday and do it all over again," Jackson says. "But I said, as soon as I sign a record deal, I'll move. And I think I moved two weeks after I signed that deal."

Dean's track 'Don't Come Lookin'' was featured on the hit series 'Yellowstone''s soundtrack, which undoubtedly helped raise Jackson's profile at the right time. Dean says it was a memorable phone call to receive.

"It was funny, my agent that works for WME on the film side of things actually babysat me when I was a child – she is also from Maryland and grew up with my brothers, who are about ten years older than I am, so she used to babysit me when I was a kid at least a couple times," he laughs.

"So it was a funny phone call that your first major TV 'here you go', is given to you by someone that babysat you, but that was a cool phone call to get."



Dean says that some of his songs are more cinematic than others, which is entirely intentional. "When you listen to music, I think it should be watching a movie in a way," he says. "It's a short movie, but it should be taking you somewhere like a film does."

It seems fitting, then, that 'Yellowstone' isn't Jackson's only appearance on a TV soundtrack: 'Don't Come Lookin'' also featured on film 'The Ice Road', while Dean was excited to learn of another recent development.

"Someone told me that we got 'Trailer Park' into an episode of 'Tulsa King' with [Sylvester] Stallone, just playing in the background," he says. "But being able to sit there and go like, 'oh my God, I'm in the background and that's Kevin Costner or Stallone' or whatever is pretty wild."

Dean's debut album 'Greenbroke', which was released in 2022 and features both tracks, in some ways was a biographical introduction to the artist himself – using the metaphor of broken horses.

"The point of the record - †he point of that title track – was about navigating the avenues of the society that domesticates you eventually, but still never losing what you were put on this earth to be, which is a little undomesticated," he explains.

It was also, in many ways, a love letter to life itself. "I have big eyeballs, and I have the world before me to see, and I see so many people lose their wonder, and the things that make them want to go and see what's on the other side of the horizon. I wanted to write something about that.



"I wanted to write something that made people want to go live. I want to sing songs and write songs that make me want to live. That's what the point of that record was."

It has been a whirlwind three years since Dean's big move to Nashville, and he has managed to fit a hell of a lot of living into it, including performances at the iconic Grand Ole Opry and the Ryman Auditorium, and most recently a sold-out European tour.

"It was only four shows that we headlined, but damn, we sold 'em out, and they were little clubs, but it was so fun," Jackson says, "and before that, Royal Albert Hall – and not only that, but getting a standing ovation in that room was probably one of the best moments of my life. That show in particular is probably the best 30 minutes of my life so far."

This week, Dean will bring his band out to Australia for the first time, and he cannot wait. "I'm so excited to come down there; it is literally as far away from home as I possibly can get, and we're going to do the thing that we do," he says.

"It's just like most people don't get to go to Australia, let alone go and play music on a different continent. It is just so damn cool to me. And the fact that I'm getting to do it with my best friends is even better."

Although this is the first year Dean's band has ventured out of the USA, this will be the third continent they've played on in 2023. "There's a whole bunch of boys from Baltimore and Maryland that are just doing this thing, and now we're going to Australia," Dean laughs. "We're coming to Australia. It feels weird having it being said."

Alongside headline performances in Sydney and Melbourne (the latter is already sold out), Jackson will be performing at Groundwater Country Music Festival on Gold Coast, alongside some of Australia's best country music acts.

Dean says he's excited to soak up as much of the country as he can while he's here, including getting to know all of the locals. "I'd love to get out of the city a little ways," he says.

"I don't know where to go, but I'm sure we're going to find something. Yeah, I want to see some animals that want to kill me."

Jackson Dean 2023 Tour Dates

Wed 18 Oct - Factory Theatre (Sydney)
Sat 21 Oct - Groundwater Country Music Festival (Gold Coast)
Sun 22 Oct - Groundwater Country Music Festival (Gold Coast)
Wed 25 Oct - The Corner Hotel (Melbourne)* sold out

Groundwater Country Music Festival 2023 Line-up

Lee Kernaghan
Jackson Dean
Casey Barnes
Amber Lawrence
Asleep At The Wheel
Blake O'Connor
Melody Moko
The Pleasures
Sara Berki
Caitlin Barnett & The Pony Boys
The Dungarees
Georgia State Line
Round Mountain Girls
Bo'Ness
Tyla Rodrigues Band
Pete Cullen & The Hurt
Doug Bruce & The Tailgaters
Hinterland
Loren Ryan
DJ Colonel's Country Music Cottage

Second Artist Announce

Adam Harvey & Beccy Cole
Billie-Jo Porter
Caitlyn Shadbolt
Chloe Styler
Haystack Mountain Hermits
Hurricane Fall
Hutch
Matt Cornell
Melissa Carper
Rhinestoned
Route 33
Summer Dean
The Pink Stones
The Weeping Willows
The Wolfe Brothers
Tori Forsyth
Vixens Of Fall

Third Artist Announce

Beth Lucas
Bonnie Kellett
Broadwaters
Brooke Schubert
Briana Dinsdale
Brittany Grey
Col Finley
Dan Henwood
Dane Sharp
Don Rogers
Jack Lorry
Jeremy Turner
JUKEJOINT
Kelly Brouhaha
Laura Frank
Robbie Bostock
Scarlett Road
Sons Of Atticus
That's What Mumma Said
The Tri-Tones
The Whiskey Mountain Boys
Tony Q