Check Out Jess Klein’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jess Klein

Hi Jess, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
Words were my first love. In high school, I spent hours analyzing the language in the books I was assigned in AP English – what made that sentence flow? What did that metaphor mean? I took a short story writing class the summer before my senior year and a lightbulb went off – I realized I had stories to tell and maybe other people would even want to hear them. In college, a suite mate taught me some guitar chords. I spent a semester abroad in Kingston, Jamaica where I started putting my stories to music and wrote my first songs. Performing those songs for my fellow students and later public audiences in Kingston was like meeting my soul-mate – I felt an immediate clarity about how I wanted to spend my life. After graduation, I moved to Boston to be part of the songwriter scene there. I was signed by a large indie record label shortly thereafter and started touring across the US and Europe. My incessant hunger for creative inspiration later led me to live and make records in New York City and Austin, Texas, before landing in Hillsborough, NC in 2016.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Oh my goodness, I almost laughed out loud when I read this question. It has not been a smooth ride, though I have been blessed to always find support from fans. After selling 22,000 copies of my first record and getting a bunch of accolades and critical acclaim, my label was bought my a much larger label with different priorities and I was dropped. I remember finding this out when I was driving myself around North Carolina for the first shows I ever did here. I called my manager and told him, “I don’t care if I never play to more than 30 people, I need to find a way to keep doing this.” At the time I was based in NYC, and had racked up a ton of credit card debt trying to make it as an artist, temping between tours and never having enough to cover my bills. Although I was on fire creatively, things felt bleak career-wise. I eventually moved to Austin where I had more of a sense of community and was able to attract more support. I feel grateful to have found that here in NC as well. I’ve seen it all – been sick on the road, driven all night on the interstate because all the hotels were sold out due to some random convention, slept in the back of a sprinter van somewhere in the UK because my tour mates couldn’t find their way off a muddy rural road. But I’ve also seen it all in the best way – singing at the National Concert Hall in Dublin, playing Newport Folk Festival, touring Japan, meeting a ton of incredible artists and fans, collaborating with artists I admire. I wouldn’t trade this life for the world.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I’m a singer-songwriter. I specialize in pulling firebrand power and childlike joy from our darkest shadows. I write acoustic-driven, hook-laden story songs that revel in the polychrome of human experience – joy, rage, sensuality and resilience. I’m most proud of my commitment to my craft. What sets me apart from others – probably just my sheer determination and dogged need to celebrate the glorious drama of life through performing songs.

Can you talk to us a bit about the role of luck?
I consider myself lucky because I was in the right place at the right time to secure a good record deal out of the gate. I also never really had to worry about going hungry, even though I was broke. I had family I could lean on in a pinch.

Pricing:

• House Concert with Jess: $1200 and up
• To download or purchase hard copies of Jess’s albums, please visit he Bandcamp store.
• Jess’s merch can be found on her website.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://jessklein.com/home
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/msjessklein/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jesskleinmusic
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@msjessklein
• Other: https://substack.com/@jessklein