Jessie Brown
Ask Jessie Brown what the craziest thing she’s done lately is, and the answer might surprise you.
For the country singer-songwriter, performing in front of thousands of fans at the first show of this summer’s Extreme Country Stampede Tour wasn’t it. But riding in the Ives Brothers Ball of Steel while she was there? Definitely.
“I’m not afraid to try anything,” says Jessie. “The Motocross guys asked if I would go in the ball, and everyone was telling me not to do it. I thought, why be scared? So I did it, and it was awesome.”
Moments like these aren’t extraordinary for Jessie—that same sense of adventure carries over into every part of her life. In fact, it’s that same passion and spontaneity that’s given her and her music such a unique voice.
Growing up in the heartland of Indiana, Jessie has been passionate about music since she was a little girl. Her family was part of a touring southern gospel group, and Jessie traveled and sang with them starting at age three until she was 13. “I didn’t have what people probably think of as a traditional childhood,” she says. “But I feel so privileged to have had a background like that. I learned to love being on stage.”
It was also through her family that Jessie discovered a love of country music. “I always listened to a lot of country music growing up,” she says. “My aunt and several members of my family always had it going.” She also says that southern gospel and country music have threads of the same roots, so writing and performing her own country songs feels very much like home to her.
In fact, the moment Jessie knew that she wanted to be a country artist was when she took the stage and performed the first song she wrote. “Music has always been a part of my life, but singing my own song was such an adrenaline rush,” she says. “I thought, this feels good and this feels right. It’s what I was created to do.”
And although writing her own music can definitely be challenging, it’s something that Jessie really enjoys. “I hear a lot of different people’s stories, and I write a lot about everyday experiences like love. I try to always write about someone or something I know.”
For example, one of Jessie’s newest songs is about her biological father, who passed away when she was very young. Although it was an extremely hard song for her to write, she says it was also a way for her to work though her emotions. “Anyone who’s lost a loved one can relate to this song,” she says. “Writing it was tough and I dug really deep, but it’s very real.”
And Jessie’s authenticity as an artist—and also as a person—is one of the things her fans connect with the most. “I’m real,” she says. “Who I am on stage is who I am in person. I don’t have a country twang—I just love country music. My songs are true and they’re from experience, and you’re going to have a great time at my show.”
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Audio CD
Unbreakable
Artist: Jessie Brown (click image to enlarge)
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