Vents MagaZine Music and Entertainment Magazine
Related Articles
We’re very excited to be speaking today with acclaimed international country music artist and star Jessica Lynn; greetings and salutations, Jessica! Before we begin kicking the proverbial Q&A pumpkin down the Thanksgiving pathway, how has the last gasps of 2022 been treating you?
Thank you so much for having me! It is really great to be here with you. This year has been incredibly busy. We got back on the road for the first time since the pandemic and now we are planning and preparing a full blown Christmas tour that will take me all the way up to December 17th. It is an extremely exciting time but also an extremely hectic time.
Major congratulations on your just-released single You Save Me on which you collaborated with UK folk singer Liam Wakefield! What was the genesis of this beautiful tune?
Thank you so much! Liam had reached out to me when we were looking for openers for our 2020 UK tour. I was so blown away by his talent and then after becoming friends and getting to know him, I realized that he was also a very special and inspiring person. Learning his story of overcoming so much and using his past to create such a significant positive impact on the world prompted me to write this song and I knew that no one could sing it with me but him. In fact, if Liam was not going to be able to record the tune, I was not going to release it at all. It had to be him with his backstory and voice.
Had you been a Liam Wakefield aficionado before working with him on You Save Me?
After he inquired about opening the tour, I had done a deep dive on his socials, as I would do with any inquiring artist. He absolutely blew me away. It is very rare to see such raw and pure emotion come through in someone’s artistic performance in the way that it does with Liam’s.
How is You Save Me different than anything else on the 2022 music landscape?
I think in today’s music industry that is so full of sameness, following the trends, and overprocessing, this track stands out. It is raw and it is honest and it revolves around a topic, mental health, that is very difficult for people to talk about. However, that is the beautiful thing about music. It says everything that is difficult to say otherwise.
You Save Me says so many things about folks who give everything and who sometimes suffer through unbelievable depression. That’s the outside stuff, but when you get closer and crack this onion open, it’s really about hope and battling through the tough times not alone, but together. Did this tune encapsulate all of your feelings about military veterans suffering through depression and/or mental illness?
Throughout my career and life I have done a great deal of work with different military charities and veterans organizations. I have the utmost respect for the people that put their lives on the line to protect the rest of us. It is such an extremely honorable thing. I really connected with this in Liam. I think the beautiful thing about this song is that it can resonate with anyone, from any walk of life that is struggling with their mental health, depression or anxiety. It is something that almost everyone goes through at one point or another and it truly is a thread that can connect us all as human beings regardless of our circumstances. I do hope when people listen that they feel they are not alone.
Can you talk about the nonprofit Forging Forward and their connection to You Save Me?
Forging Forward is an organization that Liam feels very deeply about. He has worked with them many times and is passionate about their mission. They help veterans, first responders, and their families heal from not just visible, but invisible wounds. We decided to give all proceeds from the song as well as our brand new “Music Saves” merchandise line to Forging Forward and their mission. You can purchase an item here as well as read more on the story of the song: www.JessicaLynnMusic.org/music-saves-merch .
Who was your producer on You Save Me and what did collaboration between producer and artists look like in the studio?
The song was co-produced by my father and I actually. We collaborate on all of my music. I always have a very clear vision for my music and I am extremely involved in the studio. Usually our studio sessions look like me having very definite ideas about the feel and emotion of each track, and him finding ways to help me bring that to life.
On the heels of the release of You Save Me, can fans look forward to an LP release from you in 2023?
We actually, just in September, released my debut record, Lone Rider. It charted at number 1 on Amazon music both in England and the UK as well as broke the Top 50 on the Billboard current country music chart. It was a dream come true. In the New Year I will begin writing new music which I’m very excited about!
What does your touring dance card look like in the weeks and months to come? Are you pretty booked up?
We are very booked up for the holiday season with my big Christmas spectacular show called “Jessica Lynn’s – A Very Merry Country Christmas.” You can see the entire show from last year on YouTube here: https://youtu.be/DSNYg3MAd0U . We are also in the process of booking my entire European tour for next year, so a lot is in the works!
Musically, who inspires you?
I am inspired by virtually every type of music. I go from listening to hard rock to folk music to pop, soul, really everything. I think that’s why my music is so diverse. All of these styles I love always come through. Some of my greatest musical inspirations growing up however were Shania Twain, Neil Diamond, Richard Marx, The Temptations, No Doubt, and The Beach Boys.
You Save Me was produced using a nifty thing called reverb impulses which were recorded in the Emanuel Vigeland Mausoleum in Oslo, Norway. This really lends such an ethereal quality to this lovely gem. Whose idea was it to go this route? It is simply stunning!
Thank you so much! That is my favorite part of the track because I think it really adds a special ambiance. It was actually my Dad’s idea!
Any final thoughts you would like to share with our readers about You Save Me?
I really hope that this song will mean something to you. It is my favorite music to make, something that can really make an impact. Thank you so much for all of your support so far on the single, and I really look forward to sharing more music with you. Please also make sure to follow Liam on his socials and we hope to see you on tour soon.
Listen to “You Save Me”:
All proceeds from Jessica and Liam’s new single, “You Save Me,” and their new “Music Saves” merchandise line go to Forging Forward, a non-profit organization focused on healing visible and invisible wounds of Veterans, First Responders and their families. The merchandise is available at JessicaLynnMusic.org/music-saves-merch now through December 11, 2022.
