Jackson Dean — Magnolia Sage (Blue Highway Records)
Jackson Dean boasts one of those ‘soaked in Bourbon, mellowed by life experience and cut loose by bold ambition’ voices that could have soundtracked any number of classic country records down the decades.
There’s no time wasted wondering whether the Maryland native really means it: Magnolia Sage is the sound of serious conviction, commitment to his craft and cool, cool confidence.
Dean’s still a relatively new name in Nashville and yet the boy’s a bona fide natural.
Anyone who caught him co-hosting the main stage with Bob Harris at this year’s C2C Festival in London will have warmed to a sweet mix of Music City swagger and respect for country music’s finest traditions.
Dean’s not here to be disrupter. But don’t be surprised if that’s exactly what he turns out to be.
You see, Magnolia Sage — with its light and shade concept, lyrical twists and sonic booms — is same but different.
Dean takes the trad and makes it bad (in a good way).
He leans into the genre’s tried and tested conventions but isn’t afraid to push further.
That Magnolia Sage is divided into the Magnolia (soft, soothing and safe) and the Sage (wild and windswept) makes for something that’s both exciting and unpredictable.
The decision to draw a line between two distinct sets of songs and personalities — albeit subtly — is a neat trick. There’s something to be said for Dean’s schizophrenic approach to making album number three.
Magnolia Sage won’t change country music but it might just change how you view country music.
Wake up to Jackson Dean’s Tennessee Morning
On Wildfire a rueful Dean reveals he’s a ‘country boy stuck in the city’.
Truth be told, he’s more like a rock star stuck in country.
But with every new record that slow burn towards something more akin to Brothers Osborne gathers pace.
Dean’s got the voice, he’s got the attitude and he’s got the nailed-on narratives.
And of course, he’s got the road-hardened experience touring with the Brothers, HARDY, Kane Brown and more like-minded rabble rousers.
Make A Liar’s most like TJ and John but elsewhere Dean dials it down — and does a great job doing so.
For a true glimpse into this kid’s potential check out the truly sensational Tennessee Morning.
Think Whiskey Myers covering the Commodores’ Easy. This treat of a tune fuses country, rock and soul to dizzying effect.
Upbeat opener Blacktop Blues leans on a funky beat that’s ripe for a line-dance ready summer remix.
And Hey Mississippi’s simple earworm of a riff, coupled with the on-repeat chorus, is one of the best songs we’ve heard all year.
Jackson Dean’s just getting warmed up. Magnolia Sage is set to turn up the heat in 2026.
Main image by Sean Hagwell