We recently connected with Jilly and have shared our conversation below.

Jilly, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Do you feel you or your work has ever been misunderstood or mischaracterized? If so, tell us the story and how/why it happened and if there are any interesting learnings or insights you took from the experience?

Taking my space in the music world has introduced intersectional challenges that I never considered when I first started writing. All of the music that I write is simply about my life, based on real events, emotions, and relationships. When I started showing my music to the world, I expected it to only come off as an imprint of “me.” However, what I didn’t consider is that there are multitudes to my identity that affect how my music is boxed-in and categorized.

I am– music aside– assigned female at birth, but I identify more heavily with non-binary gender expression, as well as pansexuality. What this means is that I’ve had the experiences and pressures of being perceived as a woman growing up, and my music is often consumed with the lens of prototypical femininity thrown over it. However, as a more masculine-presenting pop-punk artist, I draw many of my inspirations from male-lead bands such as All-American Rejects and The Wrecks. I’m not writing Olivia Rodrigo songs about a mid frat guy breaking my heart, I’m writing 5 Seconds of Summer songs about wanting to sweep girls off their feet. I have seen so little representation from artists that look like me in the music world in general– much less in the pop-punk sphere. It’s made me realize that while there is a gap that I can fill, I also have to work hard to establish a very strong identity so that people understand what I’m about as an artist.

Being a part of the LGBTQ+ music community also comes with mischaracterization issues. I’d say the most popular genres made by and for the queer community are pop and indie music. I get countless comparisons to popular queer artists like girl in red and boygenius, and while their music is undeniably incredible, they’re in entirely different genres than me. My main mission is first and foremost to expand the presence of queer artists across various genres. I want everybody to have the chance to recognize themselves in a song within the genre they feel moves them the most. My contribution is in the realm of pop-punk– I’m trying to bring some of that boyband energy to the girls and the gays, and the lack of strong comparisons has shown me just how much this space needs an artist like me.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

Hello! I’m Jilly, an artist and songwriter from West Chester, PA, currently residing in Brooklyn, NY. I make pop-punk music aimed to explore the whimsy and angst tied to introspection, mental health, and queer relationships. My writing is heavily influenced by the Beach Boys, Queen, and Beatles CDs that played in my family SUV, as well as the energetic 2000s sounds of All-American Rejects, 5 Seconds of Summer, and the Jonas Brothers. I started learning guitar at 6 years old and drums at 9, so it’s no surprise that my music centers heavy-hitting backbeats and powerful overdriven guitars. People have described my voice as “unique” and my melodies as “catchy,” so whether they’re good or not, they’re bound to get stuck in your head. You’ll be walking down 42nd street humming a surf-rock-inspired song about lesbianism, featuring cheeky, conversational lyricism that others have deemed “kitschy.”

This self-prescribed “goofy slut-rock” has graced stages such as the New Jersey Folk Festival and the Kennett Flash, as well as opened for Frankie Cosmos. Now, you can find it infiltrating the bars of Brooklyn as I finish my graduate degree at Berklee NYC. My goal is to bring big gay energy to the male-dominated boyband scene and steal the hearts of women everywhere.

Looking back, are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

Although I was a Psychology undergraduate student, it became apparent by my senior year that I wanted to pursue music as a career, but I needed proof of concept– a representation of what I could do as an artist– to start my journey into making waves in the industry. I found an opportunity via my capstone project through the Rutgers University Honors College. Partnering with the Mason Gross School of the Arts, I was able to write, record, and produce a 12-song album, titled Situational Comedy, in one year under the guidance of Professor Adam Klein.

This was a feat I could not do alone. I quickly learned that the greatest resource an artist has is their people. My music relies on live instrumentation with studio-level musicians who can lend their talents to breathing it into existence. This album features Steven Franklin (bass), Kyle Cao (keys), Sophie McNeal (drums), Aaron Vader-Collins (guitar), Joe Marta (horns), and Zoë Gold (vocals), all student musicians that I met through various music organizations in college.

This experience taught me the importance of connections and the confidence required to just reach out to people. Before, I was making music in a vacuum– recording through a single mic while sitting on my dorm bed and twisting random knobs on stock Compression plugins trying to figure out how to make a single acoustic guitar and vocal sound like a professional Top 100 song (check out “Smile (Acoustic)” if you want to hear how that went…). It wasn’t until I started reaching out to friends of friends via Instagram DMs and student emails that I found artists who truly wanted to make something great together, or who were willing to give a demo a listen and offer mixing advice. It’s been a journey reminding myself to JUST REACH OUT because when you find the right collaborators, they can have such a positive impact on your art and your overall musicianship.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

To me, the most rewarding aspects of being an artist are the connections I make with listeners, band members, and collaborators. My hope is always to impact and relate to audience members, whether that means writing lyrics that make them feel seen, or providing just the right sonic vibe to help them express whatever emotion they’re trying to let out. My proudest moments as an artist are the DMs I get from strangers on the internet saying they’ve been in a rut, but listening to my song made them smile for the first time in a while, or that a music snippet I posted helped them realize that the struggle they were going through was not one they were going through alone. When I see people interacting with my music live or online, I’m not worried about whether or not I sound good, I’m treasuring the moment I get to share.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://linktr.ee/jillymusic
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/jillys.singsta
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/1EdnhprFUc/?mibextid=wwXIfr
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jilly-matje/
• Twitter: https://x.com/jilly_music
• Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/68PAu1I8lr2TMENXtKgEqQ?si=p7n_D1YzQjeWbsKa_OCK9g