[Cover photo credit to Sarah Barlow] 

Australian-born, Nashville-based artist Wesley Dean has announced his upcoming album, Music From Crazy Hearts, which will arrive on April 26th, 2024. To accompany the news, he has also shared the Country-flavored ballad, “Don’t Look Back,” featuring country singer Sarah Buxton, along with an official music video.

Dean recently played the Crazy Hearts Across America Summer tour where he and his family drove over 5000 miles from Nashville to Los Angeles in an RV. They visited towns steeped in musical history, from Memphis to New Orleans and more.

With a director and cameraperson along for the ride, the tour was recorded as part of the upcoming documentary feature Crazy Hearts. As a precursor to the documentary, the “Don’t Look Back” music video is a scrapbook of the tour.

Dean shares about the new single:

We’re all fighting for someone or something in our own way which is why ‘Don’t Look Back’ feels like one of the most honest songs I’ve ever written. The lyric, ‘When the boy becomes a man, and the girl leaves her dying plans,’ is about sacrifice, the challenges of relationships, and how sometimes life can be so overwhelming it’s a fight just to get out of bed. That’s why the first line, ‘You gotta believe in something, if you want to be anything in this life,’ is the opening sentiment of the song, because it’s about having the courage to continue to believe that you can achieve great things no matter what. It’s about recognizing your struggles and overcoming them.

I wanted this song to speak to the people who feel like they have to give up a part of themselves as they get older because it’s safer to get a ‘real job’, or conform to social norms. I wanted them to feel inspired to continue to fight for their authentic self-expression, and to not question if they’re doing the right thing, but to trust their instincts and ‘Don’t Look Back’.

For more than 12 years, Dean has been making his way in Australian music. The Adelaide native found himself boarding an American-bound plane in early 2021 with his young family. He combined Roots Rock, Soul and Folk elements in his work.