Jake Owen returns this week with Dreams To Dream, a deeply personal new album arriving Friday 7 November, marking a pivotal moment in the American country star’s evolution. The record, co-produced with Shooter Jennings and tracked at Sunset Sound in Los Angeles, arrives as Owen steps into full independence for the first time in his recording career, and reveals a songwriter and performer now fully ready to show where life has taken him.
The Florida-born singer, known for the carefree summer country that made 2011’s Barefoot Blue Jean Night a global hit, says he has reached a point in life where growth, honesty and maturity have reshaped both his music and his purpose. “I’ve just become a guy that wants to sing songs for people that have also matured with me in my life,” Owen reflects. “Sometimes you need to get outside what’s comfortable, what people think you are, or think you should be, and take a risk.”
Those risks are central to Dreams To Dream. The album leans into real-life stories, heartbreak, fatherhood and self-reflection, themes shaped by nearly two decades in the spotlight. Owen, now a father of two and a seasoned touring artist, finds a grounded voice here, stretching well beyond the party anthems that defined his early chart-topping run.
Across the project, the honest tone is unmistakable. “It really feels cathartic to be honest about a lot of stuff in my life – how I feel, where I see myself going, and how I see myself going there,” he says.
The record’s lead track Wouldn’t Be Gone contemplates the hypothetical question of whether life would be simpler had he stayed home rather than chasing a dream that turned into chart-topping success. That introspection resonates through earlier preview releases, including Middle Age Crazy, Long Time Lovin’ You and the title track Dreams To Dream. The album also features a duet with Savannah Conley on a reimagined version of Waylon Jennings’ Them Old Love Songs, recorded in studio with Shooter Jennings, and a standout guest appearance from Jamey Johnson on The Jukebox Knows.
The Tracklist
Dreams To Dream
Them Old Love Songs (feat. Savannah Conley)
Long Time Lovin’ You
Wouldn’t Be Gone
The Jukebox Knows (feat. Jamey Johnson)
Fool Like Me
Chill Of December
Middle Age Crazy
The One I Did It To
You’d Think
Wrinkle In The Road
So Long, LA
Voice Note To Shooter (Once And For All)
A New Creative Chapter
Owen first emerged in Nashville in 2006 with Startin’ With Me, earning early success and steadily building a catalogue of radio staples including Alone With You, The One That Got Away, Beachin’, and of course Barefoot Blue Jean Night. He has toured with the likes of Kenny Chesney, Keith Urban and Brad Paisley, and expanded into acting with a role in the 2019 film Our Friend.
The connection with Shooter Jennings came unexpectedly when Owen commented on Jennings’ social media joking about making a honky-tonk record. Within days, calls were made, and Owen found himself in Los Angeles exploring new artistic ground with Jennings and longtime songwriting mates Kendell Marvel and Ben Chapman.
“All my friends who have heard my stuff have gone, ‘Dude, Jake, this is you man’,” Owen says. It is a sentiment that rings true throughout Dreams To Dream – a project that feels like a culmination of lived experience and the natural next step for an artist with nothing left to prove, yet still plenty to say.
Following the album’s release, Owen will again host his annual Flamingo Weekend in support of The Jake Owen Foundation, continuing a philanthropic mission that has raised millions for children and community organisations since 2010.
Jake Owen On Tour
14-16 November – The Flamingo 2025 at Vero Beach, Vero Beach, FL
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