A trusted troubadour for hot summer nights and cold beers, Owen is now in his forties, tangling with separations from lost lovers, raising kids, and growing out of the fresh-faced kid that headed down to Nashville 20 years back with a six-string and a dream.  Case in point: Dreams to Dream, Owen’s long-awaited, Shooter Jennings-co-produced foray into classic, honky-tonk country, out November 7 via Good Company Entertainment. Dreams to Dream, Owen’s first independent studio album, featuring 10 original tracks and two stellar covers, tells the tale of a man at a crossroads — and what it takes to set out a new path. 

Owen wasn’t expecting much when he commented on one of Shooter Jennings’ Instagram posts, half-jokingly suggesting that they make a honky-tonk record, but the producer called his bluff. Two days later, Owen’s manager had Jennings on the line and, soon, Owen was on his way to L.A. and Jennings’ Sunset Sound. It was a cozy yet electric scene: Jennings and Owen cracking jokes in the sepia-toned studio, creativity crackling as they collaborated with the likes of songwriters Ben Chapman and Kendell Marvel, as well as long-time shooter pal, guitarist/harmonic player Leroy Powell. 

“All my friends who have heard my stuff have gone, ‘Dude, Jake, this is you man. This is who you've always tried to be,’” Owen says. “Sometimes you need to get outside what's comfortable, what people think you are, or think you should be, and take a risk.”

Molly Curtis is an acoustic singer-songwriter based in the darkest depths of East Yorkshire. Drawing on nu-folk influences such as Mumford & Sons, Laura Marling, Ed Sheeran and Kate Rusby, she has been singing since before she could talk, and began playing her dad's guitar as soon as she was big enough to hold it properly. After joining a local youth music programme aged 13, she started to find her voice as a songwriter, and recorded and released her first single "Bad Wednesday" aged just 16. Playing Beverley Folk Festival and Burton Agnes Jazz & Blues Festival in 2014 gave her new inspiration and direction for her music, and she is currently working on a follow-up single and a rootsy new album scheduled for release in 2015.

Jack Daniel Wright is following