Dean Owens rides a Southern Wind from Scotland all the way to Memphis

Credit: Neilson Hubard

One of the UK’s most talented troubadours releases single “Elvis Was My Brother” to commemorate US tour
 
Memphis, TN— Dean Owens is widely hailed as one of UK’s finest troubadours (with fans including Trainspotting author Irvine Welsh and BBC legend "Whispering" Bob Harris). In September 2017 he became the first Scottish musician to officially showcase at the prestigious AmericanaFest in Nashville. His visit included a guest spot with the Mavericks at their “all-star” show at The Basement East… and a mention in Rolling Stone. 
 
While never losing his own unique Scottish identity, Dean has had a longstanding love affair with the U.S., recording four of his seven solo albums here, including his most recent, Southern Wind (produced by Neilson Hubbard in Nashville), which has been blowing reviewers over since its release in February 2018, with many calling it Dean’s best work yet. Southern Wind is also Dean’s second collaboration with Hubbard (with a third in the pipeline) and his fifth with longstanding friend and collaborator, award winning guitarist/songwriter Will Kimbrough (one of Emmylou Harris’s Red Dirt Boys).

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This year, Dean is making another trip to the U.S. for a short tour which includes the Albino Skunk Festival in South Carolina and a headline slot at the prestigious Levitt Shell in Memphis – the outdoor stage where Elvis Presley played his first paid gig.  In advance of this, Dean released “Elvis Was My Brother” (from Southern Wind) as a digital single on August 16 (the 41st anniversary of Elvis’ passing). A companion video was also released--compiled from Super8 footage riffling through Dean’s back pages of his travels around the U.S. including sitting at the recording desk at Sun Studios, paying tribute to Johnny Cash in his old house in Dyess, and much more.
 
“The song was inspired by a dear friend who told me how he had been raised by his mother, and didn’t really know his dad,” explained Dean.  “He moved around a lot as a kid and found comfort in some old cassette tapes. The one he loved most was an old Elvis Presley tape. He said Elvis felt like the only male figure in his life. His friend, his brother. I’m over the moon about the idea of playing this in Memphis, on the same stage where Elvis started out.”
 
Armed with a searingly soulful voice, skilfully crafted songs and addictive, heart-twisting melodies, Dean is a mesmerising and engaging live performer, with an emotional hurricane of stories and songs. His music conjures the open road’s wild romanticism, whilst searching for, and combining the primal sounds of two very different countries, distilling the Scottish and Americana into a unique blend of Celtic spirit and country soul. In Dean’s songs you’ll hear the legacy of the open plains drifters and box-car jumpers, the perfume of Autumn heather, the copper burn of a single malt or a smoky late-night barroom bourbon, and the unfettered enthusiasm of early rock ‘n’ roll coupled with the sympathetic delivery of folk’s storytellers.
 
Tour Dates:
2 Oct - The Basement, Nashville NC (New Faces night)
4 Oct - Levitt Shell, Memphis
6 Oct - Skunk Music Festival (noon)
6 Oct - 7pm - Isis Lounge, Asheville NC
8 Oct - WDVX (Blue Plate Special) - session (noon)
15 Oct - Blue Canoe, Tupelo MS
Website www.deanowens.com
Facebook www.facebook.com/deanowensmusic
Twitter @deanowens1
Youtube www.youtube.com/deanowens
Instagram www.instagram.com/deanowens1

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