Jackson Dean Pens Odes to His Fiancée on Latest LP, ‘Magnolia Sage’ (Exclusive)

Jackson Dean is all about love these days. Following his engagement to Shannon Miscoll, the country rock singer had no shortage of inspiration for his latest LP, Magnolia Sage, which is out now.

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“Greenbroke and On the Back of My Dreams were pretty intense and a lot,” Dean told American Songwriter of his first two albums. “This record is very simple and straightforward. It’s a record for the muses and the ones that you love. For me, it’s about Shannon.”

Though Dean thinks of his love when he hears these “laid back” tracks, he’s hoping fans “can put themselves in the song and see their own life in it.”

Miscoll’s influence is perhaps most obviously felt on “Hey Mississippi.” The song is a love letter to his girl titled after the nickname he gave her early in their relationship.

“She went to university at Ole Miss. Upon our first couple months of dating, I’d see her and say, ‘Hey, Mississippi,’” Dean said of the track. “… On all of my bodies of work, there’s one or two songs that are like a little lullaby, like a nursery rhyme. My mom used to sing to us. My dad did as well. There’s a few things that are pure, innocent, and just beautiful. ‘Mississippi’s one of those.”

Even the songs that Miscoll didn’t directly inspire are tied to her too, as Dean noted, “I see her in all of them.”

“‘Something Easy,’ which was written before I met her, I kept that because, A, it never fit on any of the other projects, and B, it was really a song I didn’t want to give away,” he said. “It kind of fits her to a tee in the way I feel about her.”

Jackson Reveals the Magnolia Sage Concept

Musically, Dean said that this LP ” is full of territory that I have not touched yet as an artist.”

There’s “Tennessee Moon,” which feels like “it could have been written in the ’40s,” the “lighthearted” track “Make a Liar,” which encapsulates the vibe of his current era, and “Dust on a Dirt Road,” which features a “Western trap beat.”

“I’ve never done anything like that in my life,” he said of the latter song. “That is a very distinctly different phrasing than what I’m used to. That’s the best control that I can have. I want to rip. I want to let loose. There’s certainly songs on this record that are not that. It requires so much control. ‘Dust’ is so outside. We really went for a thing and did the thing.”

All of the 11 tracks fit into one of two categories: Magnolia or Sage. The former utilizes bass and R&B influences as Dean tells stories of the Southeast and East Coast, while the latter is all about the wide open feel of the West. Listeners will hear Dean’s varied influences—from Led Zeppelin to Chris Stapleton to Eric Church—throughout each and every track.

“It’s it’s a very American record,” Dean said. “I don’t know how many location drops there are on this record. It’s a lot of different states and places. It’s just a fun thing to do with a record.”

Jackson Dean’s Hopes for Magnolia Sage

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The result, Dean hopes, is one that will leave listeners feeling “happy.”

“There’s songs of mine that make you want to run through a brick wall, and make me want to run through a brick when I sing them,” he said. “But, with these, it’s that same feeling coming from a different angle. I want them to feel like they can fly.”

During his album release party in Nashville, Dean gave the intimate crowd that exact feeling as he performed a captivating 30-minute set.

Fans across the world will soon be able to experience the show for themselves. In the coming months, Dean will be busy on the road, playing festivals, headlining shows, and even opening for Garth Brooks.

“I really think there’s so many moments to be lived and pushed to live with this record,” Dean said. “I’m excited to get out and play the shows. There’s some really awesome moments that got created in our live show from this record. That’s a big part of it for us.”

Photo by Sean Hagwell