Album Review - All I Own - Jessica Lynn

 

Jessica Lynn is an absolute bundle of energy, which shows in both her live performances and in her recordings.  With musicians for parents (who are part of her band) it is fair to say that Jessica was born to be on stage, and if you’ve had chance to see her, you will probably agree!

 

It would take too long to list all of Jessica’s attributes, but being a fighter is near the top of that list, and the new album – All I Own – is testament to her resilience.  Dealing with health issues, wider global problems that affected tours and even adopting a disabled dog, Jessica doesn’t let anything hold her back – in fact, she seems to channel it all into her music!

The first track, Bet On It, lays down a marker for the album.  Heavy guitar riff, strong rhythm and Jessica’s Country Rock vocal lets you know from the off that this is not an album of soft ballads! Something Bout You continues the vibe, albeit with a slightly lighter instrumental line, putting more focus on the words and emotion in them.  Ain’t Done With You shows that the band can drive a song in different ways, always guitar driven but this time with a great drum/percussion added to it.  The title track All I Own takes a small break from the rock, with acoustic guitar and strings perfectly accompanying the first softer song.  Jessica has the ability to switch between rocking out and emotional, at live shows she has reduced an audience to absolute silence while listening. 

Shame changes tempo again, a very Latin feel incorporating some pop style production and using the best of these styles.  If Shame is Latin, Mixed Signals is unashamedly rock, summoning up a smoke-filled dive bar sound and feel, bringing in a bluesy edge.

 

Scott Vincent

The entire album is incredibly listenable, as Jessica goers “twisting and turning” through different styles, changes of tempo, fabulous use of instrumentation to accompany each track.  From the near theatrical Mixed Signals into the more country sounding Straight Outta Luck and then the beautiful, heartfelt duet You Save Me, any part of this album takes you on a journey.  While the songs form part of Jessica’s journey, you are able to use them for your own story too.

From the evocative harmonies and steel of You Save Me, the drums and rock edge are back with 16 Miles, but this time with a gospel feel, and strings playing the part of the backing choir.  Despite setbacks – medical, global and personal, Jessica will never hide, never use anything as an excuse.  The recording of this album was a physical trial and so it is fitting that the closing track is I Never Said It’d Be Easy.  Maybe the most obviously personal track of the ten, it is an anthem to overcoming struggles but in the uplifting style that we have come to expect from listening to Jessica in the studio and live.  It’s the perfect ending to an close to perfect album

 

Silverball Country

The talent, the passion, the fight is all clear to see.  Behind the performer is a tight family and a fabulous welcoming manner.  The album is a personal journey, but one we are invited to join in with and interpret our own way.  It’s like a ten track recording of Jessica cheering us all on from the sidelines.

All I Own, the new album from Jessica Lynn is available to download or stream from Friday 17 January.

You can find Jessica on Facebook and Instagram and follow her music on Spotify

If you've enjoyed this review, please give us a follow on our Facebook page and on our Insta 

Single Review - Something 'Bout You - Jessica Lynn

 

Something ‘Bout You is a feel-good story about falling in love and having the most amazing adventures together.

If you follow Jessica on her social media, or you’ve seen her perform live with her band, you’ll know that that one line seems to sum up her (public) life.  Married to Steve who plays lead guitar with the band and touring with her family and close friends, it sure looks like Jessica does have the most amazing adventures, especially as a lot of the gigs they play have a purpose – whether its raising money for toys at Christmas or entertaining US troops.  Jessica and the band have even recently toured in Malaysia where she took part in a panel discussion.

 

The new single is pure Jessica Lynn.  Powerful guitar intro, strong vocals, great instrumentation and a fun, bouncy melody.  The sound of the song creates a feeling of those amazing adventures – the fast pace gives almost a sense of travelling – whether that’s physical or through time, and despite listening to it on a cold misty day in England, for three and half minutes I was transported to long hot summers, and yes, adventures.

There is something nostalgic about the song and I hope it brings everyone listening back to a really special time in their lives

There is!  The song will make you think of a time – for me it conjures up an image of being young, out on our bikes exploring and having fun, but the beauty of music – and this song – is that it will bring out a different memory, a different time for every listener.

Do you wanna come along with me on the adventure of our wildest dreams

Jessica has been described as “Country Arena Rock” and her music sweeps you up, and takes you along with her.  The energy of her live shows has to be experienced, but through singles like this you certainly get a feel for it!

 

Scott Vincent

We look forward to more adventures!

Something 'Bout You, the new single from Jessica Lynn is available to download and stream from Wednesday 16 October

Find Jessica on Facebook and Instagram, and follow her on Spotify

If you've enjoyed this review, please give us a follow on our Facebook page and on our Insta 

Single Review - I Never Said It's Be Easy - Jessica Lynn

 

If you’ve ever met Jessica, or if you follow her on social media you’ll know that she is a bundle of positive energy, but behind the smiles there is a singer who has always worked hard and takes nothing for granted.  Go a little deeper behind and you’ll see the struggles that she has had, including a recent sinus problem resulting in an operation and a difficult recovery.  She powers through this, just as she powered through the medical issues that she and husband/guitarist Steve had with their rescue dog Audrey.  Jessica’s new song I Never Said It’d Be Easy is about this kind of journey, the journey of making the most of everything to create your own happy ending.

Whilst the track starts with a powerful guitar solo, the vocal is quite calm, quite measured, setting the scene for us – “soak it in, it’s a good day to be alive”, with lyrics alluding to a song coming up that will help us feel better... then the chorus absolutely kicks!  Jessica takes it up several notches

“I never said it’d be easy”

The contrast between the gentle verse building up to the rocking chorus cleverly adds to the feel of the struggle for that happy life, the struggle that many of us keep hidden.

Be in doubt, this song is not a lament or a plea for sympathy.  This is a story of self-empowerment and personal fight.  Its clearly personal, its clearly heartfelt – and its clearly in the mould of Jessica’s previous hits such as Roadhouse and Crazy Idea – and in fact this was co-written with the collaborators of Crazy Idea!

 

Shaking off those struggles as she always does, Jessica is carving out the happy life, along with her family and band as she embarks on another extended tour of the US and Europe.

 

The final words about I Never Said It’d Be Easy are from Jessica

A song about positivity and hope for a wonderful future is something I feel very proud to sing while I embark on one of my busiest years yet.

 

I Never Said It’d Be Easy, the new song from Jessica Lynn, is available to download and stream from Friday 28 June

 

You can find Jessica on Facebook, on Instagram and on the road.  Follow her on Spotify too.

If you've enjoyed this review, please give us a follow on our Facebook page and on our Insta 

Gig Review - Jessica Lynn - Hare and Hounds Birmingham July 2023

In a week when The Chicks played arena shows and Bruce Springsteen and Billy Joel both filled London’s Hyde Park, we went back to a roots music venue in Birmingham to catch up with a band who have become friends over the years.

Although the Hare and Hounds in Kings Heath is a relatively modest sized venue, it is filled with history having played host to many up-and-coming artists – Ed Sheeran, Ellie Goulding, Basement Jaxx as well as being the venue for the first ever gig by legendary Birmingham Band UB40.

Despite the main room not being concert hall sized, that doesn’t mean that the shows are small.  This was certainly the case on Thursday evening when the stage was filled by Jessica Lynn and her band, plus her two support acts – Georgia Jones and Gasoline and Matches.

Gabriella Jones opened the night with a blues infused set punctuated by her fabulous chat and banter.  Tasked with warming up the crowd, Georgia made sure that she had fulfilled her task, encouraging sing-alongs and asking us all to be loud enough to be heard in the dressing rooms.  With her easy rapport with the audience it was easy to see why she is running a new open mic night in Sutton Coldfield.

 

Gasoline and Matches were up next, recreating their headline show from Buckle and Boots.  With the addition of a saxophonist and an opening spoken introduction, Sally, Steve and the band are going from strength to strength.  With Gasoline and Matches you know you are going to see a polished, high energy, professional show.  As close friends of Jessica, they are the obvious choice for support, especially in Birmingham and they didn’t disappoint.

On the subject of support acts – Jessica selected a different opener for each of the shows in the UK, giving a platform to local artists which is great to see, and absolutely fits the friends and family feel

Jessica Lynn and her band haven’t made the trip from their New York State home to the UK since 2019, with their previous tours being cancelled because of – well, you know why!  If you haven’t seen the band in action, they are certainly a band with a difference.  As New Yorkers playing Country Music they are already outside the mainstream – something that Jess feels she shares with UK Country fans! – but they are also a family. With husband Steve on lead guitar, dad Pete on Bass, mum Victoria n keys/backing vocals and even Matthew Bauer on drums is such a long time friend (15 years!) he is considered a brother!  This close relationship is evident in how effortlessly all 5 interact, play, dance and even punch the air in absolute unity.  The enforced sabbatical wasn’t wasted time – Jessica used the time to fulfil a dream and release an album, which had great success.  Most of the show was songs from that album, all well received. 

After that enforced break, Jessica and the band have been playing shows and festivals in a range of countries across Europe.  What is evident from their social media posts is that they are seeing and making friends wherever they go – and they have played to some big crowds!

If its your first time seeing Jessica play you can expect country with a rock edge, all performed with high energy and big smiles! Jessica took a moment to reset her Fitbit to count calories, apparently the challenge was to beat the calories burned in Switzerland fuelled by the energy from the stage and the crowd There is no doubt that the whole band are having a great time – and that transfers to the audience too. The standout exception to this was Jessica taking to the stage alone, while the band joined the audience, for a haunting rendition of Stevie Nicks’ Landslide.  For the whole song there was appreciative silence from the crowd. 

It wouldn’t be a Jessica Lynn show without her hit single Roadhouse, with its signature dance – and Steve from Gasoline and Matches showing us all up with his own dance floor moves - and a very different rendition of Johnny B Goode.  This used to heavily feature “Uncle Bob” who has stepped back from touring, but the new version would have done him proud and allowed the whole band to share the spotlight, with Jessica transferring to the drums without a beat being dropped, pushing Matthew to take centre stage on maracas and Victoria showing us her own stunning vocals.

 

“One More” demanded the crowd, and one more we had – with Jessica joined on stage for an unrehearsed “Man, I feel Like a Woman” by Sally and Gabriella.  The sheer energy and fun in that song reflected the whole night, both on stage and off as we were shown that the size of a venue doesn’t affect the size of the show!

 

Come back soon Jessica!

Silverball Country attended The Hare and Hounds as guests of Jessica Lynn

If you've enjoyed this review, please give us a follow on our Facebook page and on our Insta 

Single Review - Better Than That - Jessica Lynn

Unusually for a song from Jessica Lynn the pace and feel of her new song Better Than That are set by the pedal steel (rather than the usual guitar driven tune), which provides the opening to this almost ballad.

I say almost as it isn’t quite a slow song and isn’t quite a love song. Its about a very familiar love triangle – him, her - “the one”, and the third party - our storyteller who knows you Better Than That and is more likely to actually be “the one”.  She’s the one you come to, the one you talk to, the one who knows you and certainly the one who thinks that you’d be better off with her!

She knows this man "Better than that", hoping he will see what is in front in of him, the person who has always been there. 

Is there a touch of the green eyed monster, is she hoping he will see, so she can be that one.  The other girl brings him down, but we don't know anything else about that relationship. 

If you’re hanging in there for the one, this song will relate and hopefully spur you on. 

The feminist within me says, don't open that door at 2am, stop being the fool, maybe, just maybe, that will make him think twice.

Photo - Scott Vincent

The whole band is present on the backing, and the country roots are certainly evident.  It is a great mix of the stripped back songs that Jessica has released recently and that haunting steel sound.

The pace of the song reflects the feelings involved, and shows that Jessica can not only swap between genres but also between heartfelt storytelling and her well known stage rocking style!

It is a catchy little tune that will have you singing along, perhaps even a sway or a little dancing too, especially the opening. 

 

A great piece of song writing, Better Than That is a co-write with Clay Mills who has a distinguished pedigree, having written for artists including Darius Rucker, Trisha Yearwood, and Little Big Town.

 

Jessica and the Band will be in the UK for their long awaited return, starting in London on 9 May, moving on to Southampton, Birmingham, Derby, Swansea and more through the month.  Full details on the website - tour dates

Better Than That, the new single from Jessica Lynn is available to download or stream from Friday 4 October.  Find and follow Jessica on Facebook, Instagram and Spotify

If you've enjoyed this review, please give us a follow on our Facebook page and on our Insta 

 

 

 

 

.

 

Single Review - Not Your Woman Reimagined - Jessica Lynn

 

Jessica Lynn is famed for her high energy shows, her family band and now her massively popular livestreams, but in her new single, a reimagining of Not Your Woman she shows just how pure her vocals are.  Originally an uptempo song in her usual style, Not Your Woman was requested as an acoustic during one of Jessica’s piano-based livestreams, so she performed it and then recorded it in this very intimate style featuring just her voice and the piano.  Jessica even referred to the original livestream to ensure she captured the same style and emotion as when she first sang it.

Re-recording this song as a ballad gave Jessica the idea to go through her songs one by one and create a whole EP of reimagined songs which will be released in September.

Whilst the acoustic rendering isn’t quite Country, it is a great opportunity for Jessica to not only test herself but to display her range both vocally and as an instrumentalist (as well as piano she also plays guitar and, at times in her show, drums too!)

Although lockdown was tough and caused Jessica to postpone her European and UK tour, it is clear that she kept busy the whole time, recording music, broadcasting her top-rated weekly livestream – and caring for Audrey the wonder dog.  This latest project is more testament to that work ethic and will be an absolute treat for fans and new listeners alike.

 

In her own words, Jessica described the song and the project:

I have never released anything before where I was the only instrumentalist on the track, but I am very excited to share with everyone such an intimate and honest version of myself with this new music.

 

Jessica Lynn’s new single Not Your Woman Reimagined from the forthcoming ep is available to download and stream now from all major platforms

Find and follow Jessica on Facebook, Instagram, Spotify and catch all the latest news on her website

If you've enjoyed this review, please give us a follow on our Facebook page and on our Insta 

Single Review - Roadhouse - Jessica Lynn

If you’ve seen Jessica Lynn play live, you’ll recognise her new single Roadhouse instantly

If you haven’t seen Jessica and the band live – where have you been?  No worries, they are on the road this year, playing at Tennessee Fields festival as well as a string of UK dates in 2022!

So, for context, Roadhouse is a high energy party song which is ideal for the style of Jessica’s performance – bouncing around the stage, shaking that incredible hair and belting out a feel-good tune.  The whole band are involved in this, and when they are on stage you can see how much fun they are all having – from Husband Steve on guitar, Dad Pete on Bass, Mum Victoria on background vocals and Uncle Bob on pedal steel (an occasionally stealing centre stage!)

Lets turn this place into a Roadhouse, lets get those girls up the bar

Turn up that Country Music, clear those tables off the floor

The only concern when a live song is released as a single is whether it will translate.  No concerns here – listening to this track even through earphones (as I am doing right now) instantly takes you to the love show feeling that we have all been missing for so long!   Whether you see or have seen Jessica on a small intimate stage or a festival stage the energy is the same – and it is 100% apparent in this recording!

Having spoken to Jessica when the last tour had to be cancelled, I know just how much they miss live performance and touring – and the UK!  The whole band were disappointed to miss out on their regular trip and are all excited to be back on the road, even though it will mean leaving Audrey the wonder dog at home!

The track opens loud with guitar, keys, drums before the vocal comes in – but those musicians don’t let up!  It is energy from start to finish just as a rousing country song should be!  The bass line and drumbeat will have you tapping clapping or stamping along, the guitar breaks from Steve are, as ever, sublime, and it is wonderful to hear the input from every member of the band throughout – and be able to hear them all due to the great production mix.

With a return to normal within our grasp, and the festivals being announced this single release is absolutely perfect to get you ready for the big live shows that are to come.

See you there?

 

Roadhouse, the new single from Jessica Lynn is available to download and stream from Friday 14 May

 

You can find Jessica online on Facebook, Instagram, her website and on Spotify

You can see Jessica and the band at Tennessee Fields Festival and on her 2022 Lone Rider Tour UK 

If you've enjoyed this review, please give us a follow on our Facebook page and on our Insta 

Single Review - Getaway Car - Jessica Lynn

 

Whether seeing Jessica Lynn and her band live or listening to them on a new release, you can be sure that there will be energy in the music – and the latest single Getaway Car is no exception.

Husband and lead guitarist Steve opens the track with a repeating guitar riff accompanied by handclaps, setting the tempo and tone for what is to come. In come the vocals, interspersing with the music until Jessica starts the lyrics, neatly accompanied by backing vocals. 

A different style for Jessica, a bit more “hip”, less powerful in places but it lets her tell the story, and there is lot of story squeezed in there! We can hear the country twang in her voice as she sings, and you can hear Jessica’s smile when she is singing – smiling at the thought of this guy who “stole her heart in a getaway car” and also smiling at the joy of performing.

On stage, the whole band have a bouncy style of performing, and that is evident in this track, as the combined instruments, guitars, steel and drums  take us along with the song.  A wonderful solo guitar break takes us into a quieter interlude, almost a pause for breath before the jump back to the faster tempo

The “na na “ chorus will have you wanting to wave your hands in the air as you can almost picture the getaway car driving down a country road, windows down, “radio turned up to 10” dreaming of summer escapes

 

Getaway Car will leave you feeling kind of reckless, and certainly leave you smiling!

Getaway Car, the new single from Jessica Lynn is available to stream and download from Friday 29 January

Find and follow Jessica on Facebook, Instagram, her website and on Spotify

 

If you've enjoyed this review, please give us a follow on our Facebook page and on our Insta

Single Review - Its Just Not Christmas - Jessica Lynn

If you have seen Jessica Lynn playing live with her band. You will know she is renowned for her energetic shows (and her incredible hair) but her latest single It's Just Not Christmas shows her gentle and reflective side

Opening with a lovely description of a fairy-tale Christmas – snow, lights and our favourite record playing, but this isn’t going to be a fairy-tale Christmas after all.  Our storyteller is actually looking at “another Christmas without you”.  The song encapsulates that feeling of missing someone at a time that is traditionally one for families and being together with loved ones

Whatever the reason for being apart or for having an empty place at the Christmas table, the emotion is there in this haunting song.  Jess’s voice almost cracks, and the soft male vocal and stunning guitar from Steve Marks of Gasoline and Matches ensures that we can feel the love that they feel, and the loss and loneliness.  It’s a theme that exists in many Christmas songs of the past but given an extra dimension by the simplicity of this arrangement – two voices, two guitars.  The guitar sounds are almost layers, which we normally reserve for backing vocals, but this style of electric over acoustic adds to the feel.

When we get to the instrumental break, you can see very easily why Jessica invited Steve to join her on this track – his acoustic guitar playing is sublime, and adds to the track without being overpowering in any way

As a Christmas song, It's Just Not Christmas won’t have you rockin’ around the Christmas tree, but it it will give you a moment to sit back, look at the decorations and reflect on absent friends, and perhaps raise a toast to those who aren’t with us this year for whatever reason

It's Just Not Christmas, the new single from Jessica Lynn is available now to download and stream from all major platforms

You can find and follow Jessica on Facebook, on her website, on Instagram and on Spotify

If you've enjoyed this review, please give us a follow on our Facebook page and on our Insta

Single Review - Love Me That Way - Jessica Lynn

 

Jessica Lynn and her band should have toured the UK this year – but is has been a year of “should haves”.  Not one to let the small matter of a global pandemic get her down, Jessica has channelled her boundless energies into livestreams and also writing and releasing music with the aim of an album release before hitting the UK and Europe next year.

Jessica has a new single out as a result of all this hard work, and whilst she isn’t afraid to push the boundaries of genres the opening instrumentals – guitar and steel – announce Love Me That Way as a country song.  When Jessica starts singing there is no doubt that it is a country song! There is the addition of piano to punctate lines with an emotional quality. The pace of this song is driven by the drums taking us into the repeated toe tapping chorus, with the actual tempo varying throughout, taking us up and down with the emotions of the song.

The song is about fire and passion – and keeping that passion thorough all stages of a relationship – whether good times or bad, whatever is happening “love me that way”. Forget self-pity, this girl wants to set things on fire! They might not know what they are doing, but cant stop the forward motion, they are riding the runaway train.

Ironically the song about passion and keeping everything strong was written while squashed in the front seat of a rental car on a radio tour – and finished in the car park of a home depot.  If anything demonstrates that love and passion can be found anywhere, this is it!

Love Me That Way, the new song from Jessica Lynn is available to download and stream now from all major platforms

Find and follow Jessica on Facebook, website and Spotify

Single Review - Now Or Never - Jessica Lynn

It has not been a great summer for anyone with Lockdown and very unseasonal weather, and that is also true for Jessica Lynn and her band who have had to postpone not only their European Tour but now also their American dates.  

Rather than let this get them down, the whole team have been back in the studio recording new material and taking advantage of the extra time to record a full album which should be out later this year.

The latest single from this work is Now Or Never.  The song launches straight into an instrumental melody with the whole band getting involved before we get to Jess singing over a drumbeat and some of husband Steve’s guitar magic.  The whole song has a bit of an 80s vibe to it, storytelling with some real theatre to it!

The bouncy feel of the song reflects the feel of the first love that the whole song is about – looking back it always seems to be associated with sunshine and long days, the subject of a million 80s movies!  It makes you think of leaning on your crushes car in high school parking lot chatting about summer plans!

The track is upbeat and feelgood – which we all need right now.  It is hard to pin Jessica Lynn down to one genre, she likes to push at the edges of Country/Rock/pop – but if this song veers towards pop it is well written, well crafted pop and you can picture Jessica bouncing around on stage with her trademark wonderful hair. 

Now Or Never, the new single from Jessica Lynn is available now to download and stream from all major platfoms

You can find and follow Jessica on facebook, her website and on spotify - or falling in love in the sunshine

Artist Profile - When Rik met Peter Calamera

After chatting with Jessica Lynn about how much her family mean to her and to her music, I obviously wanted to hear more, so I caught up with Dad Peter before they took to the stage.  

As with everyone, I wanted to know how Peter came to music. Interestingly it was at the same age as Jessica – Peter was just a teenager when he first heard the Beatles, specifically watching a Hard Day’s Night with his sister and he thought

That looks a lot of fun

In another similarity, Jessica’s teen band played exactly the same club as Peter’s teenage band 26 years to the day that Peter last played there

You can’t see Peter without seeing his wife Victoria, and they are such a wonderful couple, so how did they meet?  Well, unsurprisingly it was music that brought them together.  Peter was adamant that he didn’t write for the female voice when an agent suggested a singer for his band. Victoria walked in and was introduced and Peter right away said 

You know what, I think I can work with her

33 years later, 31 years of marriage I guess he was right!

Peter shares Jessica’s comments about the difference between performing in America to the UK and Europe. In his own words

We love the UK audiences – its completely different to US audiences.  As Tim has just said on stage  it is so nice to be in front of people listening to the music, whereas in America it is more of a social occasion

As a New York Italian, and an ex New York police officer, I was curious to hear about the family dynamic from Peter’s point of view – being the patriarch but being in his daughter’s band

It’s interesting, there’s two dynamics all the time. I’ve been working with her since she was 13, but I’m always the Dad. In the band you have to shelve the Dad hat, she talks to you like another musician. Jessica always has the final say, but she knows that I know music and she trusts me to this day. But we butt heads, because we are Italian! Five minutes later we’re hugging

Out of being on stage with your family, your US guitar showing your pride in being American, your NYPD background… what makes you proudest?

My family. I’d like to think it’s the  work that  I’ve done as a father I’ve loved my job as a cop, I loved helping people in the NYPD, but above all its looking at my family and I see things that we’ve done that a pretty great accomplishments.  If you told me twenty years ago when I retired from the NYPD that 20 years from now you are going to be travelling the world with your family playing music, going to all these great places and meeting wonderful people, I’d think you were smoking something

That’s what I’m most proud of, we’ve accomplished something nice and I’m really proud of Jessica. When we meet people around the world, our family is growing, we’re doing something right.

Talking to Peter, you can feel as well as hear how proud he is and how much he loves doing what he gets to do with his very extended family, not just the family on stage!

When you see the band playing you can certainly see how much they love performing for their crowds, their fans, their friends, their family!

Jessica Lynn – with her Dad on bass – perform tonight (Tuesday) at Dronfield Civic Hall, on Wednesday 14 August Square Tower, Old Portsmouth and they finish their UK tour on Thursday 15 August at Old School Hall, East Farleigh, Maidstone

www.jessicalynnmusic.org