Watch Country-Soul Singer Jamie Kent’s Dreamlike New Video

When Massachusetts singer-songwriter Jamie Kent recorded his new song “Still a Dream,” he had no intention of filming a video for the wispy ballad. But the growing followers of his soul and country sound had other ideas. Upon playing the song live, he noticed audiences reacting in an especially engaged way.

“Every show, they’ve said, ‘This song hit me more than anything else,'” Kent, who recently opened for Brandy Clark, tells Rolling Stone Country. “So the song inspired the video. Typically, you’re like, ‘This is the single, this is the video.’ We even have a song called ‘Bonfire’ and already did a crazy video for that with everyone dressed up.”

For the clip for “Still a Dream,” directed by Ian Bauer, however, Kent chose a more subdued, intimate setting. (Watch the premiere above.)

“This song is all about the lyrics, and I wanted the lyrics to shine in the video. I’ve done some crazy videos, but I wanted the song to take the forefront here,” he says. A love song with lines like “I know the only way I’m going to find you now is to get lost,” “Still a Dream” serves as a metaphor for Kent’s own aspiring career. He’s currently in the studio with Clark and Jerrod Niemann producer Dave Brainard.

On the strength of the new single, the recent Nashville transplant will launch a tour in early March highlighted by a string of shows at the South by Southwest Music Festival in Austin and a Music City homecoming show March 22nd at the Bluebird Café.

Kent, who studied voice for eight years and sang with both big bands and opera troupes, says he’s committed to the live experience and often breaks into inspired dancing onstage. “I’m all about sculpting a great show. Creating moments,” he says. “Coming to my shows, I try to make every one a unique experience.”