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Sunrise Academy
TNC MUSIC INTERVIEW | 2026
SUNRISE ACADEMY
Julian Sol Jordan & Yakob Dye
New Release: Don't Miss the Field Trip
Images © Sunrise Academy
SEPT, 11, 2026
The Sunrise Academy, Julian Sol Jordan and Yakob Dye, are an indie duo from Dallas, Texas. Their music is filled with a type of American nostalgia that bred life into the late 1990s and early 2000s indie music scene. This past summer, the duo released Don’t Miss the Field Trip, which is the type of album that you listen to that takes you back to a summer you don’t want to forget. The album is filled with heart and wonderfully captures their friendship. As the album closes with Brother for Life, a touchingly beautiful song that’s honest in its maturity and unflinching in its message of connection, it leaves you feeling inspired.
Hi guys, thanks for talking with me. Has it surprised you how far your music has been reaching?
You know, lately I have been doing some reflection about how far we have come, and in many ways it really feels like we haven’t even begun yet, but of course, we are currently sitting at a ¼ million listeners, and when you visualise that, it is absolutely insane. But I think in the day and age of social media, it’s not inherently “shocking or surprising”, we are just so grateful for everyone that has supported, and there’s nothing better than getting a message from someone and hearing them be like, “your music helped me.”
What has been your favourite comment you’ve gotten for your music?
I think like I said before, the messages we get from people that are obviously really struggling in some way, and reading how by just listening to the music we put out, it can lift their spirits and make them feel good about themselves or whatever they are battling. I don’t think there is a better reason for an artist to do what they do, in times of trouble, art isn’t just cute or fun, we need it.
You’ve just released your new album, Don’t Miss the Field Trip. How does it feel to have it out in the world?
It feels wonderful, and the start of something new. For the longest time, we didn’t even live in the same city, and last year we moved in together, partially because we were both at the age where it was time to move out, but also because we wanted to really chase this thing. It feels like the most realised thing we have done, and a major accomplishment. We literally do everything ourselves, production, music videos, merchandise. We are just proud.
When you’re creating music in the studio, is it hard to let it go?
You know, not really. I think of course you are always going to want to add new things, or tweak something, If anything it’s just bittersweet and special. It is a way we bond and once we finish a song we just jump into the next one instantly.
What was the inspiration behind this album?
I think almost all of our songs are about being in that in between state of childhood and adulthood. We joke around to each other about how hyper the songs are, haha, but to be honest, when you listen to them close enough, you realise almost every song has very melancholic lyrics. Longing, yearning, a need to return to form and a simpler time of life. I think all of our songs are about memory, and while our last EP, "Big & Strong" is about us becoming men, this album sees us grappling with the idea of what it even means to grow up. I think it was subconscious for sure, and not every song is explicitly "We're old, we miss the old times!", but the through line of the record is nostalgic. We always had the name "Don't Miss the Field Trip", something about that felt beautiful. We really believe in staying a child at heart.The field trip obviously is metaphorical, and for us is just a reminder to those out there to hold onto the things that matter. Don't lose yourself as you grow older. We are both 25 and life can get busy, a lot of people our age are going through some things. We want to be that vessel for people to remember everything is going to be okay, and to get on the bus with us!
How different was your approach to creating this new album compared to your previous music?
Not much different, except we were entirely in person this time for every song, so it added this really cohesive process to the entire thing. Also the sound has matured a bit more and I think we were digging deeper for lyricism and new arrangements.
Is there a particular track that is especially important to you?
Probably ‘Brother for Life’ - I helped a friend craft that song when I was in high school, for a short film series I did. He wrote most of the arrangement, and then gave it to us, and we made it our own. It is a perfect encapsulation of where we are in life and our friendship, but also the overall general feeling our generation shares about the current climate of the world.
What’s your writing process like, and what usually comes first, the lyrics or the Melody?
Always melody, we typically just hum random words until we find a word that we like over the beat, and then we shape the song around a certain phrase or word.
Yakob what song on Don’t Miss the Field Trip best describe Julian, and why?
Probably ‘Brother for Life’, it literally has Julian’s name in it!
Julian same question?
Same answer, it feels like our brotherhood!
How did the Sunrise Academy come about?
We met as kids at a church summer camp over ten years ago and would always make original songs and sing them in front of like a couple hundred kids at summer camp. Then we started recording them over email as a way to just bond and have fun. It became bigger over the years and we started realising it could become a real thing around 2021.
Have you always had a passion for music?
Absolutely, Yakob was classically trained in piano and surrounded by a musical family, and for me, my mom was, and still is, in a rock band called THE POLYPHONIC SPREE. I was always around music growing up and use music to process life. Yakob is the same way, ever since I knew him he was making music on his iPhone!
"We have always had a soft spot for the good ol’ days, but it has become more apparent now how much of the music is intertwined in those themes."
What was the first song you wrote together?
This song called ‘Maybe’, it is no longer available, but it was Jack Johnson adjacent. We didn’t know how to quantise on the keyboard, so we just clicked the spacebar to the beat, the mixing was so terrible, but all of our friends loved it. The heart was present.
What’s the secret to having a friendship that’s also a creative partnership?
Friendship always comes first. That typically informs the work, and makes it more fun and organic.
Favourite place to perform?
Our house! Haha. We have not performed yet, believe it or not, soon though..
(I stole this from Stephen Colbert) If you could listen to just one song for the rest of your life, what song would it be? For me Magic by Bruce Springsteen.
Really hard. I will answer for both of us, but probably ‘Here Comes the Sun’.
What have you discovered about yourself, and the music you want to create, so far on this journey?
I think we have discovered how nostalgic we are, and how much that informs the music. We have always had a soft spot for the good ol’ days, but it has become more apparent now how much of the music is intertwined in those themes. We have also realised how important some of the songs have been for people, and that is a great responsibility.
And finally, what do you hope your audiences will take away from your music?
We always hope that the audience feels like they can hear our brotherhood in the music, and they can lean on it in times of trouble, or blast it in times of great joy. We just want it to feel like you can always rely on it.