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On the road through Europe, Jesse Ahern has been reading Bruce Springsteen’s 2016 memoir Born to Run. “I don’t think a lot of people know that his first years in the business were very trying for him,” Ahern tells me, calling from his home in Quincy, Massachusetts—which he will say counts as Boston proper. Behind him I can see a Rancid poster, on it an image of a skull’s head with a spiky red mohawk. “I’ve always been kind of an underdog.”
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Jesse Ahern has been in the studio since he returned from his spring European tour, working on a new record to follow up his 2023 sophomore project Roots Rock Rebel. His first single, “Sunshine,” drops August 1. “Sunshine” is a rocker: roaring out of the gates with a fast, punchy riff and billowing horns. Ahern’s strong and gravelly voice has something in common with The Boss’s, packing enough power to go blow-for-blow with the heavier arrangement. Ahern plans to release the full album towards the end of 2024 or early in 2025.
Despite its ruggedness, “Sunshine” is a deeply optimistic song, reminding listeners that even in the most desperate times, the enterprise of looking for a silver lining is always worthwhile. “Show me the light,” Ahern sings, “On my darkest days.”
Headlining at Last
I had just done my first headlining tour [in Europe]…I’d just say my own tour. I wasn’t playing to big crowds. I’ve been lucky enough and fortunate enough to play to big crowds over there, tagging along with my friends, Dropkick Murphys or Chuck Regan or the Rumjacks. And we decided it was time for me to head over solo. I’ve been the perpetual opener, which is fine…but it’s been nice that the last handful of gigs have been my own gig, which is bringing me back to where I started.
In the Studio
I recorded at this place called Rare Signals [in Cambridge, Mass.] with my good friend Brian Charles. I really like being in the studio with him. It’s refreshing and he’s fun to work with. At first [on “Sunshine”] I just heard some saxophone, maybe me just singing. Brian came up with the idea of putting some backing singers on there and backing vocals. The woman who took the vocal on “Sunshine” was Alyona Sorokina. She just happened to tackle that vocal really well and we were like, “Wow, this is a keeper.” She almost takes the lead vocal at one part of the song. She nailed the part. She was really good. And she really took charge too—it was awesome. She just came in like, “This is what I’m throwing down. Here’s what you get.”
A Silver Lining
I’ve got an album pretty much written out—some recorded, some still has to be recorded. But “Sunshine” was one of the songs that I went in and did with the whole full band. Full assault: big horns, big arrangement, big song. And it’s actually an older song that I used to play many, many moons ago in a bar band. My last album was very oriented towards being more political. And I’m trying to kind of get out of that vibe. I’m not saying that’s my theme for the whole album, I’m just saying I’m trying to write some songs with a little more hope. This was where I thought of “Sunshine” as being like a song that has a little bit of a silver lining in it.
Everything I write is always just the way I see the world. Obviously, the first line of the song is, “We got trouble, trouble on the rise. It’s in our face, it wears no disguise.” I mean, for most people, that’s probably plain text. I have children. I always think of my children when I’m writing. We’ve lived quite a different life than the average family, I would say. But we still just want to see a better place for our children. I feel like the twist of the song is the silver lining, that chorus, and I was really hoping that refrain of the song brings a little bit of light into what’s going on. I feel like it’s got that call and response thing.
Chasing the Muse
Really, what it comes down to is: I miss playing with musicians. There are some people in my corner that would tell me I should stay in my lane, because I’m making a little money. And obviously, the bigger you make something, the harder it is to put it out into the world. But I’m feeling pretty confident that I’m chasing my muse,to say the least, I’m spreading my wings from where I was and chasing my muse. And that’s where it’s taken me. I don’t really like to use that word muse, but I guess that’s what it is. Really, I’m just chasing what I feel is my next move.
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