We were lucky to catch up with Wendy Burns recently and have shared our conversation below.

Wendy, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.

I would say that my first desire to be a professional singer/artist, was at the age of 16. I come from a musical family so I knew that a musical path was what I was born to follow and that I wanted to perform it professionally. My dad being a successful gospel songwriter and minister, and watching him all my life, it was just something my heart knew would happen but something that would take consistency and time.

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

I am female jazz vocalist/artist/show creator producer/for the original Wendy Burns Music’s Ladies of Jazz Show, based out of the Nashville/ Franklin Tn./ 2022 Academy of Local Musicians Hall of Fame Inductee/ 2023 Mississippi Music Foundation awarded Best Female Jazz Vocalist of the year/ I love music and people so much,

“I sing and I play flute, but never at the same time” is one of my favorite things to say when people first meet me. Most people laugh which is my favorite part. Laughter is a beautiful way to connect with each other and we need more of that.
I frequent the Nashville Jazz scene with my shows and projects. I have a passion for the 1930/1940’s Big Band Era absolutely love singing and celebrating the songs of the “Great American Songbook. I have been blessed to sing and play with some of the finest musicians in the world and so blessed to be able to also call them friends.

My musical background goes all the way back to before I was even born. My daddy and my mom while she was carrying me, had a gospel group and they traveled and sang. I truly believe that I could feel and hear the music so it was part of me even before I arrived. I grew up in a musical family watching my daddy and learning from him. The family singings and gospel concerts where I learned to sing harmony at a young age.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

I absolutely love the opportunities I have had in working with some of the finest musicians and artists and all the people I get to meet. I guess if I had to speak on what is the most rewarding in regard to being an artist it would be this…. Connecting with someone’s heart.
As an artist, what you create, means the world to you, and when someone else feels what you feel through what you’ve created, that’s the ultimate reward. Personally, I believe music isn’t just made for the beat or the rhyme, it’s a feeling, a conversation set to a melody. If you don’t feel what you are singing or playing, the audience will see it as just background noise. I never want to be just background noise. I have too much to say and too much love to share. At my shows It’s important to me to go out into the audience and thank people for coming. In doing that, I have met some of the most wonderful people. Some of the stories they share, where they are from, and how the show made them feel, that’s part of what drives me to continue.
Of course, monetary appreciation helps to pay the bills and plays an important part in what we do and we can’t do what we do without it, but when someone tells you that your show made them forget their problems for a while, that’s priceless.

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

A wonderful friend of mine once told me that I have great “bounce back ability”. That’s something that I actually had to learn through experience. You have to find a way to be resilient when you’re an artist and even just as a person, trying to make your way through a judgmental and critical world. Part of getting through that is knowing that for every critical person, there are at least two people that would actually love what you do. I had to learn not to focus so much on that “one person” because that’s what holds you back. First, you have to believe in yourself, and your God given talent then go with all your heart. When I first moved to Nashville with my parents as a young girl, I was just out of high school. I had the dreams that everyone has when they move here, to be a “Star”. I fell in love with Jazz at the age of 9 and knew that’s what I wanted to sing. Moving to Nashville many years ago, there wasn’t much of a market for Jazz. That hurt and was a big blow to a young heart. I can’t tell you how many times I heard the phrase “We don’t do jazz here”. So, with the desire in my heart, I continued on down the path to audition for a theme park show and was excited. I could do country for a while (I love classics of any genre) until I made it big enough then I could sing jazz then. So, I auditioned in front of a panel of judges with my knees shaking from nervousness. I sang my song with all my heart and the judges replied, Ms. Burns, you have a beautiful voice, but you don’t sound enough like Reba McEntire. I remember feeling shattered and in my most vulnerable and honest and mild voice I answered, “But you already have a Reba McEntire, why do you need another one?” (Note to the readers: Please know I love and adore Reba and it was too late I had already said it). The room got quiet for what felt like 5 minutes then one of the judges said, “Thank you Ms. Burns” we will be contacting you”. It was an honest question that no one knew the answer to. Guess what, they never did call me. Riding back from the audition that day, my daddy could see me choking back the tears and he said something that I’ve lived on my whole life. “Don’t you ever try to be or sound like anyone else. You are Wendy. You and your voice are special. I’ve remembered those words always.
I’ve sung on many stages, studios and events since that day, but that day was a day that helped set the stage for what I wanted for my life. To dig down deep and sing all the way from the inside because my daddy said I could and because that’s what I was created to do and be.
My adult life had a few setbacks and heartbreaks as we all do, but I still believed that someday I would still sing jazz and see my dreams come true. Life has a way of trying to set you off course, but it also has a way of knowing when the exact time is that your light will shine. You just have to keep doing, keep going, keep praying, and keep believing. God knows what’s in your heart so don’t ever give up on it, ever. Don’t over comprise just hold that dream in your hand like a butterfly, at some point it will fly.

(Fast forward to the current day): Following your dreams is also accompanied by rejection which can hurt, from a personal point and a business point, everywhere from broken promises to things and plans that just fall through. That’s when you have to push through and make your own way. The canvas is yours to paint. Paint it with the colors of your heart. It’s your show, make it worth watching.

So many wonderful things have happened, and I am truly grateful for God’s grace in helping me with determination and for staying the course. I have a show that has been running strong for four years now. “The Wendy Burns Music’s Ladies of Jazz Show” at Rudy’s Jazz Room, Nashville, TN. This show has been a lot of hard work to build and create. A show that features female talent in the jazz community. There are so many beautiful and wonderfully talented women in jazz, and I wanted to create a variety show that would shine the light on them. it has been so much fun.
Resilience has played a big part in this as I have had to find the talent, organize the rehearsals, create the content, create the commercials, push the ticket sales, launch the promotions, design the posters, and keep a big smile on my face. It can be exhausting but I have a vision, and I keep my eye on that. My desire is to be the best I can be and put on the best show I can.
I’ve had to use an abundance of that bounce back ability even in doing something that I love so much. It’s a show where I want the artists that are featured, the band, the venue, and the audience to all be happy. A show that has such a happy energy that people take with them when they leave.
I’ve learned stage lessons and do have one rule (never sing on stage while reading the words from your cell phone. that’s just unprofessional to me. People paid money to see you and that looks less than professional. A music stand will be available if needed).
My journey has been a long one but yet is just beginning. I’m so excited about it. The best is yet to come. My granny always told me “You’re a Star” so I have to do everything I can to prove her right. I have so many wonderful things planned, and I cannot wait to see what unfolds.
If I could do or say anything to be a message of hope to someone who is facing adversity, rejection, or criticism, I would say this. Do you love what you do? Does the song you are writing tug at your heart? Do you feel it in every beat of your heart? If you do, then you are exactly where you are supposed to be. Share that with others. Don’t keep it to yourself. Create beauty from ashes. Your music matters and your art matters. Yes, there will be someone who doesn’t like it but remember, for every one person that doesn’t, there are two that will love it. Follow your heart and share your dreams.
I took me a long time to listen to my own advice. Once I did, everything started falling into place. Create your own beautiful life in your own artistic way. You and your art so worth it. I’ll close with one of my favorite things to say.
“Life is a song., it’s all in how you sing it, so SING “

Ok thanks ,
Wendy Burns

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wendyburnsjazzvocals?igsh=YTQwZjQ0NmI0OA%3D%3D&utm_source=qr
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wendy.a.burns.16?mibextid=2JQ9oc

Image Credits
Anthony Scarlati