BIOGRAPHY
He’s already been named "One to Watch” by Taste of Country, The Boot & Sounds Like Nashville. Now coming off (2) Top 40 Billboard Indicator and Top 20 Music Row Singles with the release of 2019’s I AM, Dylan Jakobsen is prepared to unveil the next chapter of his story to the world with 2021’s Set Fire to the Night.
Stepping off the highs of a pre-pandemic 108-stop radio tour and an extensive, high-energy touring schedule spanning 45 states and 3 continents, the Washington native settled into his home studio just outside of Nashville, TN to begin recording what would become his next album. “We’ve been a lot of places and met so many faces. It truly is the most inspiring thing you can do; setting foot on the road and experiencing life right in the flesh.” Such subject matter can be found prevalent throughout his two country radio singles at the time, “In America” and “I Am”.
“This last record [I AM] was emphasized as an autobiographical concept where we made a point to share all these pieces of me. It was an extremely personal album, not only in the songwriting process, but down to the very thing I grew up as a kid doing back in the valley of Snohomish, WA. I used to have this old Tascam 8 track and I just remember spending hours upon hours in a room encapsulated with that thing. Taking these songs I’d wrote and stacking layer upon layer of instrumentation until I had put together my one man band. I remember being so proud of the final products at the time and I still am proud. It’s extremely gratifying and fun to crack a smile looking back on how far you’ve come since those early years.”
From artist to songwriter and multi-instrumentalist to producer, Jakobsen has always been one to do things his own way and into his new album Set Fire to the Night, he continues to prove himself as the outside thinker he strives to be. “You won’t see 4 or 5 songwriters listed in the liner notes for a single song. So many of the artists I’ve looked up to over the years, from Petty and Springsteen to Mellencamp and Church, that’s how they found their voices. You’d see one songwriter listed below that track title and I believe that holds its own when it comes to authenticity.”
Set Fire to the Night is a bounding step into the climate of todays society, but with a positive outlook on the present times and how you have the power to remain in control of your own tomorrows. It’s a theme you’ll find engrained throughout the entirety of it’s track listing. Between the opening jangly guitars of “Beautiful” and the silver lining, state of mind lyrics found in “Don’t Ya Think?” there’s a radiating energy that shines through. Songs like “Get Back” and “Six” only prove to solidify the country-rockers stadium-like qualities and rhythmic flow that all comes to a cusp with the closing track “Into the Light”.
“This is meant to be a record for everyone of all ages. Simple. Honest. Hopeful. I want to spread the message that we all have the choice on how we choose to live out our days. This collection of songs is the product of how I have chosen to live out mine this past year and just in writing them, I feel like I’ve discovered an entire new side of myself that had been waiting to be brought to light. I’m happier than ever and I’m optimistic for what’s to come.”
The new album Set Fire to the Night is available for streaming and download in stores now. “We’ve been looking forward to getting back out there and performing these new songs on the road, in front of the fans, for some time now. It’s been too long and I think it’s safe to say we’re undoubtedly craving it at this point.”