Jarrod Dickenson

Jarrod Dickenson, a New York-based singer/songwriter originally from Waco, Texas, first encountered music through his father’s record collection, absorbing the Beatles, the Who, and the Rolling Stones before gravitating toward classic American blues. He took up the guitar at age 18 and promptly began composing original songs, drawing fresh inspiration from Bob Dylan, Hank Williams, and Townes Van Zandt. During his final year of university, Dickenson wrote and tracked his debut album, Ashes on the Ground, issued in 2008. While touring behind the record he reached Nashville, where he cut several tracks, among them “Walking in Central Park.” He submitted the song to the 2011 Belfast Nashville Songwriters competition in Northern Ireland, claimed the grand prize, and traveled to Europe for his first Belfast performances.

After returning stateside, Dickenson moved to Los Angeles to make his second album. Enlisting Grammy-winning producer Ryan Freeland, whose résumé includes Aimee Mann and Ray LaMontagne, along with a hand-picked group of musicians, he shaped the more country-oriented The Lonesome Traveler. In 2012 he revisited Europe for shows in London and another appearance at the Belfast Nashville competition, then settled in New York. Over the following years he maintained a transatlantic touring schedule before issuing the 2014 EP Songs from Willow St. The next year brought An Evening in the Sun, an EP recorded live at Memphis’s historic Sun Studios. As his U.K. audience grew, Dickenson toured alongside Don McLean and the Waterboys and appeared at the 2015 Glastonbury Festival. Despite interest from major labels he remained independent and recorded his third album in Eastbourne, U.K., capturing the performances to 2" tape for a genuine analog sound. The resulting country-soul and folk-inflected Ready the Horses appeared on Decca in late 2017.