Editor's Note: Dean Johnson is No Depression's Spotlight Artist for August 2025. Learn more about the Pacific Northwest singer-songwriter and his new album I Hope We Can Still Be Friends, due out August 22 via Saddle Creek, in this feature. Keep an eye out for more from Johnson all month long.
Dean Johnson is serious, funny, and seriously funny. The Seattle songwriter embodies a storied tradition of lyricism that is smart, sly, playful, humorous, and genuine, sometimes all at once. Easy to spot across a crowded bar or on a festival stage, Johnson could pass as a crew member on Steve Zissou’s R/V Belafonte with the snug red or blue longshoreman caps he fancies and his handlebar mustache. But don’t mistake his music for the twee hipster fare of a Wes Anderson film. This modest troubadour is brimming with the kind down-to-earth observations championed by the likes of John Prine and Kris Kristofferson, perhaps at times even reminiscent of Loudon Wainwright III. Father John Misty, aka Josh Tillman, also comes to mind (and Johnson indeed cites him as an influence), but there is more emotional depth in his thoughtful songs than Tillman’s sardonic self-indulgence.
This talent for balancing seriousness with dreamy moments, deep thoughts, and jocular character studies helped put Johnson on the map for many listeners with the 2023 release of his debut solo album Nothing For Me, Please. With the arrival of its gorgeous follow-up, I Hope We Can Still Be Friends (due out August 22 via Saddle Creek), Johnson continues the same artistic evolution that has quietly earned him a reputation for being one of the most original songwriting voices of the moment.
