She adds, “It's so funny. You hope and you pray that as an artist you have touched someone, or just made someone listen and when things like this contest come around where it's up to your fans to put you where you need to be... AND you get there... WOW, it's just incredible!”
The fun starts tomorrow morning on the Live With the Cledus T. Party! Tune in to 94.9 FM at 8am (Eastern time)! Jessica will be Cledus’ in-studio special guest! She will do a live performance and an interview. Fans not from the Atlanta listening area can listen online at www.bullatlanta.com. Jessica says, “I appreciate ‘The Bull’ for giving aspiring artists like myself this opportunity and I appreciate my fans more than anyone can know for putting me here. I really am just beside myself! I am so nervous and excited!”
On Saturday, July 12, each of the four finalists will compete in front of a panel of judges at the Hard Rock Café (Velvet Underground) in Atlanta. Everyone is invited to Hard Rock Café (address: 215 Peachtree Street NE) to cheer on their favorite Next Big Star finalist! This show is FREE and set to begin at 9pm! After a 15-minute set from each contestant, one winner will be chosen to open for Kenny Chesney the following evening as part of his Poets and Pirates tour stop into Atlanta. Estimated attendance for the July 13 show at Turner Field is 40,000!
The Next Big Star competition is not the first one Jessica has entered and won! In 2007, she and her band won the Shift2Nissan National Battle of the Bands competing against 80 acts across the country. She was the only female country music artist in that competition and walked away with $10K in prizes from the win. Jessica's successful background in musical theatre contributes to her drive and ambition to write and perform. In 2005, just months after pursuing her music career full-time, she auditioned for the Colgate Country Showdown, winning all the way to the Regional level. The following year, she decided to try her hand at
Jessica’s desire to perform began at the early age of four. Creating song and dance numbers with her big sister and performing them for the family was a regular form of entertainment. Listening to Bonnie Raitt, Jimi Hendrix, The Beatles, Lyle Lovett, Delbert McClinton, Allison Krauss, Vince Gill, and Shania Twain helped shape her own musical style. When she heard her first Dixie Chicks song, she entered her school talent show in 6th Grade and decided she would live her life on stage. Her guitar started going to school with her, and she was writing songs and playing for friends whenever she had the chance. Every spot in town that had karaoke nights, coffee shops, open mic opportunities would be her outlet.
At eleven years old, Jessica wrote her first song titled “Romeo and Juliet,” a country-laced, line-dancing tune, and hasn’t stopped since! Her writing is inspired by situations she finds herself in, in addition to observing the lives of her friends and family. Jessica plays guitar and piano (she writes on guitar most of the time) and is learning to play mandolin and fiddle.
Jessica has traveled all over the southeast United States, opening for T. Graham Brown, The Atlanta Rhythm Section, the LoCash Cowboys and The Classic Rock Allstars. She played the Martina McBride after party at the Plex in Charleston, SC and has also been a featured artist in the Bluebird Café Sunday Spotlight Series in Nashville, TN. During the 2007 NCAA Final Four in Atlanta, Jessica and her band headlined the pre-party at the Georgia World Congress Center. She is comfortable with an audience of five to 5,000. Country-rock to the core, Jessica and her band continue to build their following.
In conjunction with her regular performance schedule, Jessica contributes time to various charitable organizations helping with fundraising plans and shows to raise awareness. She is currently working with Life Linkage (www.lifelinkage.com), a network for cancer survivors.
