Jackson Rodgers

“You done good....Sounds like you can write. You're onto something.”
Steve Earle - Camp Copperhead 2014

“Jackson, your lyrics are right on track, very good...”
Chris Hillman - The Byrds, The Flying Burrito Bros., The Desert Rose Band

“The closest thing to Gram Parsons I've ever heard.”
Jim Carlton - Gram Parsons, The Legends

“I really like your songs...I am glad to see some young artists carrying on the flame of the type of country rock that I like!”
John Jorgenson - The Desert Rose Band, Elton John, The Hellecasters

“Really like the lyrics...my kinda stuff!”
Pete Anderson - Dwight Yoakam, Roy Orbison, Meat Puppets

“Thumbs up, Jackson! The songs are top notch and your approach to the tracks is as well....Well done.”
Richard Bennett - Steve Earle, Emmylou Harris, Marty Stuart, Mark Knopfler

“You'll make the cut. Got a good mind & guts. Keep it up. You'll be going places.”
Hargus Pig Robbins - George Jones, Bob Dylan, Pretty Much Literally Everyone Else

“Wow - Very Nice...you are doing the work - GOOD.”
Steve Noonan - Jackson Browne, Greg Copeland

“I have listened to your songs and they - and you - both sound great!”
Shane Fontayne - Bruce Springsteen, Lone Justice, Maria McKee - Obtained in Person or via Email

Orlando singer-songwriter Jackson Rodgers isn't the BIGGEST Gram Parsons fan in the world, but many of his musical heroes were influenced by the Parsons hybrid of country, R&B and rock.

For Rodgers, among the acts on the bill for a Gram Parsons Revival concert on Saturday at Will's Pub in Orlando, that was enough to investigate the musical source of what would become known as country-rock. Parsons, who spent his adolescent years in Central Florida, invented the template that would become the foundation of hit-making bands such as the Eagles before his death in 1973 at age 27.

"You see his influence in other people you like more and I think that's just how it goes," said Rodgers, who will perform with his father, guitarist Forest Rodgers, at a tribute that also includes sets by the Luxury Liners (aka Orlando's country-roots outfit Giddy Up Go) and Stephen Rock. "You like someone's music and then you find out who they like."

Rodgers, who has built a solid reputation for his own roots-oriented style, will toss a Parsons song into the mix on Saturday with his original material. He'll be doing "She Once Lived Here," a 1962 George Jones song that Parsons interpreted with the Flying Burrito Brothers.

"It was a favorite that Gram liked and it was one that George Jones also recorded, which pleases me," Rodgers said. "Plus, I don't think anyone else will be doing it."

[...]

Rodgers, meanwhile, does share one thing with Parsons: He rejects labels such as country-rock that put up stylistic boundaries. He looks at the trendy Americana movement, a genre that embraces country, rock and folk styles, as a home for wanna-be stars unable to succeed in mainstream country.

"I've never been one to say 'I'm a country guy' or 'I'm a rock guy,' so I'm a kindred spirit to Gram in that way," Rodgers says. "I didn't pick it up from him, but I admire that attitude and share it."

Rodgers, 29, soon will be working on new studio versions of his material, including the Parsons-worthy ballad "Satisfy the Need" and the rock-flavored "The Blood Left on the Door."

Raised in Clermont, Rodgers returned to Central Florida two years ago after dabbling in acting and majoring in philosophy at the University of California, Los Angeles. He likes the Orlando music scene, but also is considering a return to California or possibly a move to Nashville.

"It's a constant learning process doing original music," Rodgers says. "You get constantly surprised, often pleasantly, but not always." - Orlando Sentinel

But the American twang of local Jackson Rodgers stood out. Backed on electric lead guitar and mandolin by his multi-instrumentalist father (Forest Rodgers), who added welcome depth and dimension to the music, he played a nice set of wide-swinging roots rock with very natural melodies that could sit on the same porch alongside Austin Lucas’ sweet country gospel. With songs this good, this is definitely a guy who shouldn’t be strumming away in obscurity. No, this is music that should be punched up, filled out and presented to more serious Americana crowds. - Orlando Weekly