Meet Jessica Lynn

We recently connected with Jessica Lynn and have shared our conversation below.

Jessica, we’re thrilled to have you sharing your thoughts and lessons with our community. So, for folks who are at a stage in their life or career where they are trying to be more resilient, can you share where you get your resilience from?

I get my resilience from years of traveling a difficult road. I began my journey in the music business when I was only 13 years old and have since built my brand into a worldwide entity. It has not been easy and getting knocked down so many times has really taught me how important it is to get back up and keep going.

Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?

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.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

1) Learning to do everything myself
2) Being a self starter
3) Learning the power of “no.”

It’s important to be confident in yourself and just because you hit a roadblock – it doesn’t mean you are at the end of your journey. It just means you have to find another way.

Before we go, maybe you can tell us a bit about your parents and what you feel was the most impactful thing they did for you?

I am where I am because my parents believed in me and I’ll forever be grateful for that. From the minute I decided that I wanted to sing for the rest of my life, they supported me and helped me chase every single dream I ever had. They are still doing it and there with me. I will never, ever forget it.

Contact Info:

Image Credits

All Color Photos – Scott Vincent
Black and White Image – David Birri

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