Jeremy Dion is a licensed therapist by day, and a singer-songwriter by night, delivering his own unique style of “folk therapy.”
Inspired by legendary songwriters and storytellers such as Paul Simon and James Taylor, the Colorado songsmith’s bright sound, delightful harmonies, and optimistic words have brought him from the Boulder Theater to Edinburgh’s Fringe Festival and beyond.
According to his mother, Dion has always been musical, playing the piano since he was seven and writing songs on the guitar he was gifted for his 18th birthday. After falling in love with the music of Jerry Garcia and The Grateful Dead while attending UC Berkeley, he began teaching himself guitar while working on his degree. Since then, he’s put out three studio albums with his first album, Finally, releasing in 2008.
Dion’s fourth full-length album, Bend In The Middle, is infused with the light rock and uplifting folk sound he’s garnered a reputation for, and is due to hit streaming October 18th, 2024. The lead single and title track premiered August 30th, and his latest single, “All I See is You,” dropped today. On October 11th, his third single, “Lovin’ Our Friends,” will greet the world.
We got the chance to talk to Dion about the upcoming album, his “folk therapy” mantra, and much more.
Do you remember when you knew you wanted to be a songwriter, and who or what inspired you to pick up the pen so to speak?
I grew up playing piano, singing, and loving music deeply. But I never really considered a career in it until much later. I picked up the guitar at 18, and took it with me to my freshman year at UC Berkeley. That following summer, I took the only guitar lessons I’ve ever really had, and quickly learned to play a few Neil Young songs. Once I added a harmonica to the mix, I had my first real glimpse of how possible it was for me to replicate what Neil was doing on stage, minus the songwriting aspect of it. That was the moment a door opened in my consciousness, letting me know that music was one of several viable pathways for me.
How does your work as a therapist affect your process and approach as a musician?
I’ve been a therapist now for more than twenty years, and a songwriter for longer than that. So the lines get blurry. At this point, I think my therapy world informs the lyrics I write, and often shapes the flavor of a song. Many times I find myself writing in a way that touches on the emotional content of a particular therapy session, for example. I commonly start out thinking I’m writing about an issue a particular client had, only to find time and again that I’m actually writing about how that issue relates to my own life. Because they always do.
I see your website displays a tagline of “Folk Therapy For Late Bloomers.” Can you elaborate on what that means?
I consider myself to be a bit of a late bloomer in many ways. The obvious example is that I didn’t come out of the closet until my late thirties, not because I was too afraid, but because I actually didn’t know I was gay. That sounds funny writing it now, but it’s true. That’s how tuned out I was to myself – and how tuned in I was to following the prescribed rules in my family in particular and culture at large. My music seems to resonate most with people in their thirties and beyond, who know themselves at a deeper level than they did in college. Birthdays often come with scars, but they can also bring deep wisdom.
You’ve got your new album, Bend in the Middle, set to release October 18th, 2024. What was the creative process like for this album, and how was it different from past projects?
In the years leading up to this album, I’ve been working diligently at the craft of songwriting. I’ve attended song circles and industry workshops like Folk Alliance and the Durango Songwriters Expo. I picked up a vocal coach and songwriting mentor along the way, so I’ve been steeped in learning from others who have been studying the craft much longer than I. I’ve loved every second of it, and feel like I’m finally starting to find my voice as a songwriter. Through life in general and my therapy career in particular, I’ve been gathering up a lot of information about being human. Now I have some things I want to say about all of that, and I’ve packaged it into an 11-song album for your listening pleasure! These songs feel really good, largely because I’m feeling really good these days. I hope it has the same effect on the listener.
You collaborated with many talented musicians on this record. What was that experience like, and what made them the right people for this project?
It’s true! The folks on this record are all successful professional musicians on the Colorado Front Range, and I’m a fan of them all. Many of them I have worked with before, and others I met through the spearhead of this album, producer/engineer Kyle Donovan. The thing that makes them so good – in addition to being great humans to be around – is that they all listen so well. That’s key to a great musician. They listen to the song itself, the structure as well as the vibe, and they listen to any instruction on what we were going for. They were all so easy to work with, and I plan on collaborating again on future projects.
Along with your influences such as Paul Simon, John Denver, and James Taylor, where else have you drawn inspiration from throughout your life?
I’m a big-time Deadhead, and Jerry Garcia is my favorite musician. I found him during my formative years of learning guitar, which had a big influence on my playing style. In other arenas, I find inspiration in my life from people like my daughter – now a freshman at U of Hawaii in Honolulu – my friends and colleagues like Gregory Alan Isakov and Megan Burtt who are doing wonderful things in the musical world, and I find most of my inspiration through my spiritual practices of daily meditation and listening to Abraham-Hicks.
Is there a song or two on this album that is particularly special or important to you?
Indeed. The title track, “Bend in the Middle,” sums up much of what I talk to my therapy clients about: We all got feedback early in our upbringing about the parts of us that didn’t quite fit – we learned that we were too this or not enough that, and many of us mistakenly came to believe that about ourselves. But it turns out that those very same parts – the parts that didn’t fit – are actually vital components to who we are, and rediscovering our connection with them is a necessary part of human growth and development. I’m also really high on “All I See Is You” – the first time I’ve purposely written a duet, and my favorite song to perform on the album is “Lovin’ Our Friends.”
Do you find determining the order of songs on an album such as this to be a challenge, and how important is that to you?
The track order is very important to me, and I approach it the same way I do when I make up the setlist for a live show. I’m taking the listener on a musical journey, which usually needs to start with some sort of feel-good introduction. I pay attention to the mood and pacing of each song, where my minor key songs are relative to those in a major key. I’m very conscious of my opener, my closer, and track number three, for whatever reason. Then I slot the remaining songs in around those. When I make those decisions, I pay close attention to how one song just left me feeling, and how the first few notes of the next one land. This is important stuff, I tell you! It’s no subtle magic. I take the responsibility seriously.
What does success as a songwriter and musician mean to you?
Great question, and my answer is forever shifting. Right now, it means feeling content with where I am, and eager for more. Sure, I want to win Grammys and tour with Noah Kahan. And I also find deep satisfaction in knowing that a new song is great and sharing it with four friends at a song circle. As long as my creativity is flowing (and it always is, it’s just a matter of whether I’ve tuned into it), I feel successful as a songwriter. We are all here to create, and we do that in a myriad of beautiful ways. My next album, halfway written at this point, will be my first album of children’s music, and I can’t wait to see what that process is like. Beyond that, I plan on writing whatever kinds of songs are lighting me up at the time.
Along with the upcoming release of Bend in The Middle, what else are you looking forward to as we slowly close out the year?
I’m looking forward to catching my breath a bit, as the last few months have felt like a sprint. I’m going to let my body recover from a nagging hand injury, nurture myself in new ways, and settle into what naturally feels like the season of turning inward. I’m also a big sports fan, and fall is the best. Go Seahawks!
