On City Lights’ series “Speaking of Music,” local musicians share work and stories in their own voices. This edition spotlights Sid Jerr-Dan, an Atlanta purveyor of alternative country and Americana. He specializes in what he calls the “wanderlust sound,” with a catalog of “songs of heartache and heartbreak, trucker country, ‘tear in my beer’ tunes and songs of the hippie cowboy.” Cheekily, Jerr-Dan writes on his Facebook profile, “Synth pop [with] no computers ever.”
Jerr-Dan is his own Swiss Army knife of instrumentation, playing guitar, pedal steel guitar, drums, bass and piano on his recordings. His earliest influences as he began writing songs came from far outside the country canon — acts like Sonic Youth and noise musicians. But the songwriter fell in love with country and Americana when he began learning the pedal steel guitar during COVID lockdown, “a kind of obsession for me now,” he says. Nowadays, he’s listening to George Jones, Johnny Paycheck, Waylon Jennings and the like.
Proudly calling Atlanta home, Sid Jerr-Dan attests “I wouldn’t live anywhere else,” citing the city’s diversity and proliferation of creative artistry and opportunity. “Every time I leave, I just come right back.” His favorite venues are the EARL, Star Bar and 529. Sid Jerr-Dan’s next single “Everyone was Laughing” comes out Feb. 20, with more upcoming drops leading up to his summer record release. He’s also performing tonight, Feb. 16 at 529. More from Sid Jerr-Dan can be found on his Instagram, @sid_jerrdan.
