The country wave has been going global over the past few years, and there’s nothing we can do to stop it. Long past are the days where country was the sole preserve of American audiences, with little additional pockets of enthusiasts predominantly in Europe and Australasia. These days, headline names like Dolly Parton, Kacey Musgraves, The Chicks and Jason Isbell, all the way to lesser known singer-songwriters like Jesse Lynn Madera, together are ensuring that audiences around the world are more enthusiastic than ever about this growing genre.
For Jesse Lynn, her music is a chance to transport her listeners far from their everyday lives to her experiences both growing up in West Virginia and Houston, all the way to her travels around the USA. As she kicks off a brand new tour, featuring her brand new single “Woke Up In LA”, she hopes to bring more of her heartfelt storytelling to even more listeners.
“I maybe have sort of a whimsical or childlike imagination,” she says, reflecting on her songwriting process, and the manner in which she feels every one of her songs is deeply connected to her soul.
As is indicative of much in the genre, many of her songs evoke moments from her own personal history, ones that pull you to a beach far away or seats you front row on an intimate date. “Woke Up In LA” continues on this trend, taking us through a painful relationship and the wistfulness that comes with hoping for a freer, more gentle life as a result.
“I still do go to Montana and I go, “What if I lived here? It would be so simple,” she smiles. “Of course, there’s always problems anywhere, but I do have that fantasy of just moving out to a place where everything is fresh and clean and you can drink out of the water faucet, which we certainly can’t do in LA unless we’re really living on the edge!”
Newcomers to her music can take a deep dive amongst her first two albums, Fortunes and Speed of Sound, and if her music’s growth on the charts is any indication, her fans around the world will be hearing much more of her as she rides this new wave of country music.
In the meantime, she shares with us her Top Five Desert Island Picks:
1) Very clean water
If it needs to be bottled water, it would have to be in glass bottles. That’s my favorite thing.
2) Salt
I always say salt! I don’t think people, when they talk about desert island lists, I don’t think they say salt enough, you know? Because you want to enjoy your life!
3) A fishing rod
There would need to be probably a fishing rod because you need these tools as a foundation!
4) Writing materials
[I’d need] something to write with, some kind of never-ending ink writing utensil – I don’t know what that would be – and something to write on.
5) Tequila
I was talking about tequila [earlier], so tequila, fine! But a really nice bottle, and I’d make it last. I’d make it last until I got rescued, you know?
Jesse Lynn Madera is on tour, find out more here. “Woke Up In LA” is out now. She can be found on Instagram here and on all streaming platforms.