We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Jesse Williams a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Jesse, appreciate you joining us today. Learning the craft is often a unique journey from every creative – we’d love to hear about your journey and if knowing what you know now, you would have done anything differently to speed up the learning process.

I grew up in a world of Music and melody. My family’s band, “The End of the Trail Band” was the soundtrack of my childhood. Every weekend they would get together and pour themselves into the medicine of their Music. Unrelentingly and passionately. At the time I was a wee little thing and I played tambourine. They made me feel ten feet tall and just as important as them. I picked up the violin for some time but eventually found my true muse – the guitar. My Papaw Micheal strung up a three-quarter sized guitar with nylon strings and got me started. I was twelve years old at the time. It’s like he knew I was ready. He just had a natural knowing about him, that’s who he was. I was eager from the start and learned a D chord. That’s when it all set in stone. I’m twenty-six now and I’ve been playing ever since. I learned from him and my Father, who is also an amazing Musician. I have taken lessons here and there.. I’ve studied my heroes and their styles, not with a goal in mind but out of admiration and fascination. And through the many years of this, a natural digestion of their approaches and techniques has happened. But ultimately, time is how I’ve learned to do what I do. Staying at it for over a decade, with varying seasons of commitment and focus. Years of breaking rinse and repeat cycles, practicing until it’s muscle memory, playing until it’s inspired.. Years of attempting to dig deeper beyond recycled ideas and stagnating styles. The past few years have really started the show the fruits of my labor and the seriousness has deepened lovingly.

I could have focused on myself and my craft with passionate curiosity. I could’ve dove into my Music and my truth, digging deeper into everything inside me longing for expression and evolution. Versus doing what I did for some time, (a long time) which was focusing on others and expending all my energy doing so. Rather cleverly I was avoiding my relationship with Self, and what was missing from within. Distracting myself purposefully from the details of my Purpose. And all that needed to be strengthened, educated, embraced, I was adverse to. It was uncomfortable to imagine the seemingly insurmountable work I needed to do in order to evolve. To carry out the standards I had in my mind put a chokehold on my creativity. So I looked outside of myself for fulfillment and pursued external means of gratification. Instead of prioritizing the self-intimacy and solitude that leads to healthy discovery and recovery of Self knowing. I often feared solitude as loneliness. But greatness comes from that time of focus, that time of incubation.

The skills that have proved most essential to me, have been provided by experience. Getting things wrong and “trial by fire” has taught me more than success ever has. And that journey looks different for everyone. We all have strengths and weaknesses. And what comes naturally varies from person to person. I learned that despite the uncomfortable nature of acquiring skills, the challenge of confronting your limits is essential. For me that looked like communicating clearly and in a timely manner. Building community based on transparency of boundaries, values, and goals. Asking for what I am worth, expressing my needs and being direct. Working hard to improve the ‘weaknesses’ I felt I had, training them into strengths. Taking underdeveloped skills and transforming them into an edge that sets me aside. Ultimately, the skill that has been most impactful – is taking consistent inventory of my goals and my fears. Honestly discerning what I can do better and not being afraid to admit that I CAN do better. And then do it! One small alteration at a time still gets it done. Little changes amount to big advancements.

For me, the obstacles that stood in the way of learning more have always been fear of failure. Perfectionism about future projects and ideas, would completely halt progress or even beginning them in the first place. My grand ideas would be shut down immediately by the critic inside who felt I wasn’t educated enough, audacious enough, talented enough.. I really leaned into that harsh voice too because as uncomfortable as it was – it was more comfortable than being initially ‘bad’ at whatever it was I dreamed of doing. But that’s where it all begins! It’s only temporary and it’s the toll that most be paid to enter new territory. That fear held me back from progressing and learning more. Which fed my insecurities, quite conveniently I might add. Being embarrassed to ask for help and guidance also stood in the way. Embrace the experience and knowledge of those you admire. Seek the knowledge that you’re hungry for. Whatever you fear doing/trying/exploring, is a green flag that it’s a healthy risk worth taking.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I’m Jesse Williams, Blues and Soul singer/songwriter/guitarist. I’m a mountain mama of many different roots grounded in sultry sweet blues that’s infused with warm soul and melody medicine. Hailing from North Georgia with a heart for grooves and the deep belief that it’s best savored when simmered..

I grew up in Music, coming from a long line of guitarists, fiddle players, and singers. Being surrounded by rhythm and rhyme my entire childhood, I was involved from an early beginning. Coming into my own, I got my start in the industry when I was twelve years old. My first gig was at B.B. King’s Blues Club in Memphis, Tennessee. I’ve been playing and digging deep ever since.

The creative works I provide are sounds and get-downs that are a full course meal of experiences.. from thrills and nuances of long loved inspirations like Bonnie Raitt, Susan Tedeschi, and Aretha Franklin.. to Derek Trucks, the Allman Brothers, and early influences like my family’s band the End of the Trail Band, Stevie Ray Vaughan, and Jimi Hendrix.. I feel my Music is an invitation of tender vocal serenades, heartfelt power swells, and thoughtfully expressive guitar work that plays and grooves with the medicine of the music. Every show, every performance is poured out from my Soul. I strive to bring my very truest best and to authentically communicate the full scope of emotions.

I think what sets me aside from others is that there is no specific box my Music fits inside. It’s not traditional blues, purely funk/Soul, or strictly folk/roots. It’s a blend of all my long loved Artists and their styles.. A natural progression of being a student of Music while additionally taking time away from mirroring melodies. Intentionally being with the silence to find my own voice, my own ideas. It’s my hope that you can hear my influences, but automatically recognize the distinct sound that is my own.

I’m particularly proud of my EP, “Off the Vine” which was released in September 2020 and is comprised of five original songs recorded at InCrowd Recordings in Atlanta, GA. It definitely marks a turning point in my songwriting. Through the process of recording, I was beginning to find my confidence as a vocalist and really enjoyed getting to express myself on guitar. Outside of the EP, I’ve also appeared on other projects. Like the Josiah Soren & the Colorblind Pilots album. We did a powerhouse cover of Renee Geyer’s, “Really Really Love You”. I also had the pleasure of co-writing and singing on the electrifying groove, “Long Way From Home”.

I’d like my potential followers/fans to know that I’ve since been honing in my vocals and guitar playing as a solo artist since 2020. Somewhat incubating if you will on my skills and refining my Artistry. Dialing in on my vision.. I’ve been writing songs that reflect the seasons and reasons of my life, with focus on dynamic chord building and composition. I’m currently getting a band together, building a community of Musicians to grow and evolve with. The journey is ever-growing and evergreen. I want to share my medicine with the world and heal together. The very themes of my life are the same experiences shaping us all. We’re all so inter-connected and feeling the same needs. And I’m always searching to express those truths. To reveal and heal with passionate surrender to the sound.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

The most rewarding aspect of being an Artist is communing with Spirit. Whether it’s in alone in my space, tuning into the lyrics coming through.. playing around on the guitar, listening for signs, for direction.. Whether it’s on stage, connecting with the energy in the air. That electric reciprocation between Artist and audience, and how both sides of the stage are giving and receiving the other. And most especially when playing with other Musicians. You’re all contributing to the song, falling in together and offering your unique gifts to Source. It’s worship. It’s courageous, to bare all like that in hopes to connect. To connect with your own Soul, those around you, and to collectively tune into the medicine. It’s release, it’s freedom. There is no time and space, even though it’s all about timing and filling space – or not filling it. Whatever the song calls for. It’s embracing feelings of all shades and allowing the flow. And somehow in the magic of all those moments, you dissolve into something bigger than yourself.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

The mission driving my creative journey is to be ever-growing, ever-flowing. To explore the unknown terrain of my experiences with an open heart and to share them. We all give what we truly what to receive in kind. And for myself, I’m constantly seeking answers, guidance, and to relate deeply through the midst of the human experience. That really fuels a lot of the moves I make. There’s a feeling within me that wants to make something lasting out of the fleeting moments in life. As well as to honor where I’ve come from, the beings that have helped shape who I am, and to walk in alignment with my Purpose.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://thejessewilliamsband.com/about
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jessewilliamsband/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheJesseWilliamsBand
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheJesseWilliamsBand
• Other: Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/25bTqoUyhe5jwszJNB4zwo

Image Credits
Dark Terrain, Ally Troy, Carey Hood, Tonya Williams, Josiah Soren, Dan Almasy, Will Varner