We recently connected with Jessie Ritter and have shared our conversation below.
Jessie, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today. Earning a full time living from one’s creative career can be incredibly difficult. Have you been able to do so and if so, can you share some of the key parts of your journey and any important advice or lessons that might help creatives who haven’t been able to yet?
I think when I first became interested in music I really believed the starving artist narrative. I thought you were either Carrie Underwood, or probably homeless. And that’s just not the case. There is so much room in the middle for hardworking creatives. After I graduated from college I took a job with Carnival Cruise Lines. I was able to sing every single night and get paid every two weeks. It was a dream job for a young singer. I learned so much from that gig. Eventually I moved back on land and joined a house band at a club in Florida. We performed a lot of the same music I had sang out at sea. This gave me some stability as I started pursuing playing my own music. It took a couple years, but eventually I transitioned from playing in cover bands to getting booked all over the southeast singing my songs. Now that’s what I do. I get to make records and tour the kind of music I’ve always wanted to make. I also built a studio out of a shipping container in my backyard. I use this space to do a lot of custom songwriting and demo recording for other people’s projects. I like that I get to be creative in this way and get paid for making music at home.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I have been writing and singing since the beginning of time, or at least my time. I think I’ve always seen the beauty in ordinary moments and found a way to turn that into music. That’s really still what I’m doing.
I feel it is my calling to spread a little joy in this world. To heal hearts. And music is my way of doing that. In every show there will be moments full of smiles, moments for tears, moments of laughter… and at the end I hope people go home feeling a little more human, a little more grounded, more connected, with the confidence and energy to dream.
I’m really really proud of this new record we’ve been working on. “Little Town In America” is set to release Nov 18, 2022. It explores this dichotomy of longing for adventure while yearning for home. Which is really the space I’ve been in the last five years. My husband and I got married and renovated our home together. We welcomed a new baby into the world. We’ve built this stable life. But at the same time in the last five years we’ve been to Europe, we’ve spent months living in our RV traveling the United States, and I’ve made two records and been out on the road touring a lot. I think you see both sides of my life shine through in this project.
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
In 2018 I won a competition called NashNext. It was this nationwide talent search for country musicians. I got signed to the same record label Taylor Swift was on at the time. I was completely over the moon. We put out a single and though the song did okay the label ended up dropping me about a year later. Part of me wanted to quit in that moment. I thought I had seen my big chance come and go. But I decided that this was another opportunity to have creative control of the art I made. I played as many shows as I could and saved every bit of money that went into that tip jar. Eventually I was able to go back to Nashville and make my own record on music row. It is 100% honest and real and totally me. And I don’t think it would have turned out the same if I had stayed in that record deal.
In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?
Stop. Asking. Musicians. To. Play. For. Free.
Let’s say it again for the people in the back. If we want to live in a world where people create art and provide these services for the public to enjoy, it has to be a viable way to make a living. There is no way I could make the music I do if I had to have a full time job as well. I am not a “weekend warrior.” I am either performing or working on my business every single day and am thankfully able to call this my only job. But I turn down a lot of gigs that don’t offer any compensation. It’s just not a sustainable way to live.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.jessieritter.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jessie.l.ritter/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jessielynnritter
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/jessielritter?lang=en
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/JessieLynnRitter
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@jessieritter
Image Credits
Photography by: James Toups, Annie Theby, Audrey Solieau, Shelbey Goldsmith, Nathan Zucker