Today we’d like to introduce you to Jessica Lynn.

Hi Jessica, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I have been making music for as long as I can remember. It sounds cliché but I never chose this path in life. It certainly chose me. I am a self-trained singer, drummer, and guitarist but did take classical piano lessons in elementary school and middle school which is really the foundation of my musical knowledge.

When I was 13 I started my first band after seeing a poster for the battle of the bands outside of my chorus classroom. I was writing all of the material for the band and my parents helped me to get us out gigging. We were performing at every local fair and festival we could and we were also playing all over Manhattan, working extremely hard to establish something special for ourselves. Unfortunately, that band fell apart and broke my heart because we had interest from some record labels. I was devastated and thought my dreams were over. The other kids in the band were, well, kids, and I always had a much more of an adult mindset in regards to this being my dream and career. I spent years trying to replace the magic we had within that first group and it was impossible. At that point I decided to become a solo artist so my career was solely in my own hands and my heart was telling me to go after country music, which I always loved growing up.

I asked my father, who co-manages my career with me, to help me record a demo to shop my new material and he had the idea to do something different. Already being an outsider and commodity, a New York Italian country singer, he said we should also try to break into the business in a unique way to add to the story. On a shoestring budget and a dream, we filmed a television concert special. An hour long program of all of my new material with a band I had thrown together in a month. It was entirely “grassroots.” That show wound up going nationwide on PBS and it has been a really wild ride.

Since then, I’ve been blessed to tour in 15 countries, have had a number one record, radio success, two more television specials, and through a lot of hard work, tears, smiles, and laughter, I’ve built a life and business I am truly proud of from nothing.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
The path I have traveled for my music career has certainly not been a smooth road. Aside from learning to find my confidence and the ability to keep picking myself up off the ground after significant hardships along the way, financially building a music career is very hard. As an independent artist, I never had funding to support PR campaigns, record releases, tours, etc. I would say that had to be one of the biggest struggles – being able to afford to do all of these things to keep growing. A lot of hard work and blood, sweat, and tears has gone into being able to move forward.

Another major struggle I have faced, which actually wound up being one of my greatest assets, is being different. I am an Italian New Yorker from Brooklyn, NY which is not common in country music. In the beginning, before I had any sort of success to stand on, I received so many no’s. “You aren’t good enough, you don’t look the way we want you to, you don’t sound the way we want you to” and so forth, I really had to find the strength to keep my head held high and when people wouldn’t pay attention, I had to find a way to make them.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
In my career, I am most proud of building everything I have accomplished from scratch. Every accolade, award, or tour date has been due to my unwavering dedication and faith and it’s something I’m really proud of.

What’s next?
I just finished up in the studio recording a brand-new record and preparing for worldwide tour dates, so we are all very excited for one of our best years yet.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.JessicaLynnMusic.org
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/jessicalynnmusic
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/jessicalynnmusicpage
• Twitter: www.twitter.com/Jessica__Lynn_
• Youtube: www.youtube.com/jessicalynncountry

Image Credits
Scott Vincent