Will Jackson

As the summer creeps in and restrictions are finally easing up across the country, the desire for good time tunes at your favourite local venue is at an all-time high. Making a last-minute plan to meet up down at the bar, squeezing in the door minutes before the set, grabbing some beers and hitting the floor shoulder to shoulder with a room full of new friends all after the same thing. To get swept away for the night and forget the cares of the week.

Will Jackson's new record Songs From the Briarpatch features those goodtime swingin' tunes to soundtrack those weekend nights down at the saloon. Through years of grinding on the Nashville circuit, Jackson and his band have honed a sound that uses Tennessee songwriting cadence but swaps the heavy twang for a pop-rock sensibility. True American heartland rock. Born and raised in South Carolina, Jackson spent two years studying at the renowned Berklee College of Music before making his home in Nashville where he's put in over a thousand gigs.

The album begins with those big wide-open guitar strums that both ring like chimes and announce like trumpets. Strums like old Mellencamp hits or even like the opening to 'Street Fightin' Man'. The organ fades in to greet the rest of the band who sink into the groove like an old favourite pair of boots. Jackson looks back wistfully but keeps it bright amid the sentiment. A good ol' southern harmonized guitar lead channels the Allman Brothers. 'Good Enough' has Jackson reflecting over earnest piano like Springsteen before hitting a skipping groove and happy-go-lucky lyrics in the vein of pop-rock mainstays Train.

'Drinking My Way Home' looks at drowning out the world with a drink. Replacing every bad memory with another ounce. 'Polaroid Parade' finds that old box of photos scoring the reminiscence with an acoustic guitar and classic Americana fiddle. 'Gonna Get Me Killed' yanks you back out of the trip down memory lane with a driving four on the floor rocker, ripping with rock n roll twang guitars and wah guitar solo. 'Caroline Calls' closes out the album with a hoppin' love letter to his home state. The organ and backup singers join together to create a gospel praise of Jackson's coastal home.

Songs From the Briarpatch is a record full of reflective looks back but always with a foot on the gas going forward. The band is a well-oiled machine taking in influence from either side of the rock/country coin and making it their own. Look to these guys for a happy Nashville night out in the post-pandemic world.