Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Jill Burkes. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alright, Jill thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. I’m sure there have been days where the challenges of being an artist or creative force you to think about what it would be like to just have a regular job. When’s the last time you felt that way? Did you have any insights from the experience?

Working as a full time gigging musician brings me more joy than any other job that I’ve had. While there are a handful of things I sometimes miss from having a “regular”job … (solid insurance…a retirement plan…) I am grateful to be living my dreams- traveling and playing music for a living. Prior to shifting back into music around 2019, I worked over a decade in the medical field as an occupational therapist – but something was always missing back then. I felt disposable working for a large company. I wasn’t in tune with myself or my values. I love creating and making music – it is healing for myself and hopefully to listening ears as well. These days I feel like I’m living my souls purpose- and it feels better down to my bones. My inner child is happy. I feel authentic- living true to myself and values. That is the best currency.

Jill, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

BIO:
GENRE: Folk, Folk Rock, Americana
MorningBird is a powerhouse acoustic trio with an eclectic vibe. MorningBird began as a duo in 2020 with singer songwriter Rob Wheeler and violinist Jill Burkes. In 2023 the pair added upright bassist Josh Palmi to the group. The trio was quick to find their sound, with haunting harmonies and melodic string arrangements. Their new album, Echoes in the Meadow is out now.
“They’re musicians from the Iron Range of Minnesota & right from the start their style’s a refreshingly modernized throwback to duos & groups of the 60s and early 70s that carved out the more acoustic folk-storytelling songbook.”
-Americana Highways

BACKGROUNDS:
Rob grew up playing sweet rock and roll air guitar licks before getting his first acoustic guitar as a young teen. The action was so bad he could hardly play it- but he persevered and has been playing music in bars around MN for almost 25 years. He has done some construction work in the past but prefers the Gypsy life and music path. Rob is also an avid mushroom forager and master brewer of Kombucha. He started Boss Booch and sells kombucha locally on the MN Iron Range.

I am a classically trained violinist, starting lessons (Suzuki method) at the young age of 9. I was performing and traveling by age 12 with The Singing Strings (director Helena Pakola of Virgingia MN.) I played with the Duluth Youth Symphony Orchestra throughout high school and traveled to England with Sound of Strings (director Michelle Gribbon of Duluth MN) in 2001. Rob and I are a couple and have been making music together since 2018. My latest project -successful I might add.. is befriending the neighborhood crows.

Josh brings the soul and blues groove to the group. He was 13 when he got his first guitar. He has fronted his own band – Josh Palmi and the Strange Frequencies- for many years, and has been a part of MorningBird on upright bass since 2023. Josh has a background in construction work as well, but prefers making music as a full time gig.

All three of us have played together over the years in different music line ups, but MorningBird has been our full time gigging group for the last year and a half. Our goal is to continue to travel and make music for a living- we love touring and seeing the country as we go from venue to venue. It’s so fun to see people singing and dancing to our tunes!

We released our first album as a trio – Echoes in the Meadow – May of 2024. Available on all digital platforms.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

For me (Jill) it was actually pretty overwhelming at first – to switch careers from occupational therapist to musician. I’m not sure if it’s because of all the work of going through graduate school- or just my identity (back then) with the title of Occupational Therapist. We are taught from a young age how to be productive members of society… and I believed it. And I even did a good job of it for a while. But in 2017, I went through some intense growth and really started to look into what was important to me and why. I found that I didn’t even understand what my values were because I was subconsciously living my life based on societies expectations. I didn’t like working in healthcare anymore. It felt more like sick care. I was doing my job the best I knew how, but was still a part of a broken system… and it was breaking my heart. It took a lot of courage to walk away from my career- and I finally had gotten my own office with a window too! It was like the universe was testing me. But I left that job- the one with good insurance and 401 k – for an unconventional life as a musician. It was a big shift. It felt like I was going rogue. I learned to be ok with feeling black sheepish for leaving a “real” career to play music. Like being a musician isn’t serious or something. But it absolutely is. And we are doing it! And my heart doesn’t feel so broken anymore. Playing music is healing. It’s living in the present moment and I feel the most myself when I’m performing with my friends on stage. Sometimes the things we think are important in life, really aren’t our own ideas- but pushed onto us. I used to get a new car every few years – it was something that I thought working people did and was a measure of success. But I haven’t gotten a new vehicle since I switched lifestyles/careers… and life goes on! I no longer measure success with financial numbers and new cars – I’ve Unlearned that. To me, what resonates most with successfulness – is love, happiness, and feeling authentically true to myself – in all areas of my life.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

I have played violin since 9 years old, but had I (we- thank you Mom) listened to the first instructors that we talked to – I may have never learned! I play violin and guitar backwards, or left handed – however I am right handed. I was born with a left hand deformity that limits my dexterity and strength. More than one instructor told me that I would not be able to play violin as even left handers learn the violin right handed. My mom would not take no for an answer. We kept looking for instructors, and Helena Pakola was confident we could try- we strung up a violin backwards. I used my right hand to play the notes and my left hand to bow the strings (opposite of the rest of her students and every other violinist I’ve met since.) I mirrored her as she taught and it always felt natural to me. There were some tears along the way- feeling different than everyone else, dropping the bow and having to build up the strength, not being able to hide my hand in my pocket anymore- that bow hand was front and center on stage and before I knew it, it became my superpower. Music taught me resilience and confidence. Music is where I go to to find myself. Would I have had the grit and passion to work so hard at the violin if someone didn’t tell me I couldn’t do it? I sometimes wonder.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.morningbirdsings.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/morningbird_mn
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/robandjill
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@morningbird_mn
• SoundCloud: https://on.soundcloud.com/7ctU4Rz9ka1TXk5N6
• Other: Link Tree: http://linktr.ee/morningbird_mn Band Camp: https://morningbird1.bandcamp.com/album/echoes-in-the-meadow

Image Credits
Apple Tree Photography, Jill Burkes