Colorado songwriter Jackson Melnick has long been aware of the struggles of modern-day farmers in the but seeing the cold hard facts directly inspired his new song “Trouble.” “I was reading about the plight of suicides among farmers in America,” says Melnick. “Farmers have a suicide rate that more than three times that of the general population.” Melnick has seen the isolation many farmers struggle with, as well as seeing society at large becoming less tolerant of the demands of farmers and less aware of where their food comes from. In a beautifully heartbreaking, rollicking melody, he wastes no time getting to the point. “10,000 lives gone like the weather / When are we gonna start treating our farmers better?,” sings Melnick in “Trouble.” Bluegrass Today shared a music video for the song, calling it “an interesting mix of folk and bluegrass, with Dylan-esque songs.” In Melnick’s words, “The music video for the song says it all: digging a hole that’ll be your grave but can’t stop digging for the love of it.” “Trouble” is the first single from Melnick’s debut full-length album Abilene, due out September 24. Fans can watch the video for “Trouble” here and pre-order or pre-save Abilene ahead of its release at this link. (Jackson Melnick, 2021)
Produced by esteemed musician Christopher Henry (Peter Rowan Bluegrass Band), the upcoming Abilene positions Melnick as an important new voice in folk music, and also features accomplished bluegrass musicians such as Jason Carter, Matt Combs, Alex Leach, Tuck Tucker, and Cory Walker. Although the arrangements draw on the traditional sound of Bill Monroe and Ralph Stanley, among others, Abilene is at heart a songwriter’s record. Across these 10 tracks, Melnick combines his reverence for bluegrass with a lyrical point of view that is both mystical and topical.
After a rousing opener of “John the Revelator,” Melnick moves to the aforementioned “Trouble,” which touches on suicides within the farming communities of the Owens Valley in California. It is an epidemic he learned about while attending nearby Deep Springs College during a period of time when he began to hone his songwriting craft. Later, “South of My Soul” offers a sincere testimony about wishing the best for the other person when a relationship dissolves. Written in the moment, it is a cinematic yet poetic song that explores what it means to forgive and to heal. Truly, these emotional perspectives align well with Melnick’s career as a psychotherapist. “Being a therapist requires a lot of presence and raising consciousness, and I think that’s the kind of songwriter I’m interested in being, too,” he says. “I want to write songs that elevate the space to a higher mind of seeing things. I find that the themes in my music tend to be connected to that experience.”
Growing up in Crested Butte, Colorado, Melnick began meditating when he was 8 years old. Within a few years, he learned to play guitar and started busking—first singing John Denver and Steve Earle songs, then moving toward Dylan classics. Through most of his teenage years he hosted a weekly radio show on a local community station, too. But the most transformative moment may have been when he was 17 years old and saw a video of Gillian Welch and David Rawlings on stage. “I was watching them, and I felt like I knew exactly what they were doing, and how they did it. It was a transmission, like, ‘I know how to do that,’” Melnick recalls. “It hit me like a stack of bricks. Then I went to my guitar and I wrote three songs. They just sort of poured out and that was the beginning for me.”
Yet, music is just one component of Melnick’s overall goal. “I’m focused on big-project thinking,” he says, “I don’t want to just be a musician. I want to be working toward the healing of our planet.”
Abilene Track list:
John The Revelator
Trouble
I See You
Raghse Zarrat
Spirit Mother
Abilene
San Diego Pt. 2
San Diego
South Of My South
The Rhythm Has No End
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Release of Abilene
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