Weathervane

Darkness to Light: Robin Jackson’s song-driven search for the heart’s Silver Lining Tender sentiment and raw truths dance in Robin Jackson’s vulnerable, masterful songs on his new solo release Silver Lining (RELEASE DATE, 2024). And there’s always a twist to move listeners from dark clouds to bright breakthroughs, as Robin spins pared-down tales into lush folk pop. Robin releases his first single from the album "Weathervane." (RELEASE DATE JULY 2024). Called a “captivating song-crafter” by NPR, the Portland, OR-based singer, songwriter, and instrumentalist has a long history of using music and song to conjure other worlds and create lasting connections. For more than a decade with Vagabond Opera and MarchFourth!, he performed everywhere from Red Rocks to the World Cup, with everyone from Gogol Bordello and Amanda Palmer to The Polish Ambassador. More recently, Robin has focused on his own songwriting, honing his craft and considering what really makes a song work over the course of three solo records. What he’s found when all’s said and done: songwriting is a hero’s journey. Songs–and the process of writing them–guide him through life’s roughest feelings to what lies beyond. “Songwriting for me is an arduous process,” he muses. “It’s a mountain to climb. It’s sifting through webs and caves, composting all the elements. The wind and gravity have to all line up for me to get inspired.” Robin found inspiration for many of the tracks on Silver Lining in an experience that is both deeply personal and highly relatable: the end of a big romance and the painful soul searching that ensues. Yet these are songs for seekers, not tortured poets. “So much of my music is both melancholic and uplifting at the same time,” Robin reflects. “I can’t just write a sad song; there’s always a lesson, a moment of gratitude or acknowledgement of the journey, turning lead into gold. It’s happy and sad at the same time.” To evoke this bittersweet yet hopeful emotional world, Jackson uses a diverse, genre-spanning palette. His first single on the album "Weathervane" likens heartbreak and love to the often tumultuous and unpredictable patterns of the weather, as he says in his lyrics "My heart spinning 'round like a Weathervane." He also gathered his community, bringing together leading voices of the Portland scene he’s been a cornerstone of for decades. He tapped producer Chet Lyster (Lucinda Williams, the Jayhawks, The Eels), who helped Robin strike the right balance between these disparate influences and James Julian Villa, the Portland producer who’s defined the city’s recent folk-rock-pop sound. Though Robin’s songs reflect an intimately personal journey, his work is rooted in connection. It evolved as he founded and guided a community of songwriters that aims to welcome all comers and allow them to embrace the craft–while supporting and encouraging each other. This community, The Songwriter Soiree, began as a casual monthly gathering but has blossomed into full-blown retreats and events. Watching other songwriters grow has urged Robin to explore new sides of his own art. Though he retains the giddy quirkiness of his earliest projects, his songs hit the heart of the matter with distilled urgency. “It’s been meaningful to be around people facing their fears and stepping up,” he says. “It’s helped me land in other places. I like expressing myself whimsically but I want to own how I feel. I’ve experimented with just trying to say it. I like painting with poetry but I also like just saying what’s going on.” Ultimately, Robin wants people to feel the yearning and the brighter outlook just over the horizon that comes when we move through and learn from loving others. As we do, “It’s okay to wander around and feel a little down sometimes. Through those feelings you move to new places, you make space for the feelings so you can heal. That’s a big part of what songwriting is for me, that cathartic experience.”