Introducing Jessica Mitchell

Thank you, Trisha Yearwood, for not only releasing another fantastic track from your upcoming album last Friday but also for inadvertently introducing me to this Canadan born singer/songwriter!
As always when I hear a song I love I want to discover who wrote it, and a bit of delving told me that Trisha’s track ” Workin’ On Whiskey”, a really emotional song about trying to move on after a break up, was both penned and first recorded by Jessica, who released it as a single in 2016. It actually opens her 2018 debut album “Heart of Glass” which of course I immediately checked out and absolutely loved from start to finish, she has described the eleven songs as being “very much about loss and acceptance of that loss” with many of the tracks apparently written after her mother’s passing in the hope that sharing her grief and other personal experiences will help connect with her listeners. I definitely felt that connection, she is a someone who both writes and sings from the heart and is not afraid to show her vulnerability.

Originally from London Ontario, Jessica is based in Toronto and Nashville these days and it was while on songwriting trips to music city after signing a publishing deal with Slaight Music that she fell in love with the raw honesty of country music, something very much evident in her own writing. While she is promoted as a country artist these days like many contemporary writers her music draws on elements from other genres ….” Firechaser” for example, another of her singles from the album, definitely shows her pop influences .

Her most recent release sees her collaborating with another Canadian country artist, Tim Hicks, on ” Somebody’s Gonna Get Hurt”, a warning that based on past experience any relationship she embarks on will end in tears …” somebody gonna do the same old thing they always do ‘cos they’re too damn dumb to learn”. Their voices blend so beautifully on this remix of one of the standout tracks from her album in my opinion.

Checking out Jessica’s upcoming tour dates ( she’s very busy!) it was great to see that she’s visiting the UK very soon to play The Long Road Festival….I’m not sure if that’s all she has planned while here but you can keep up to date via her website jessicamitchellmusic.com

Article written by Lesley Hastings (twitter.com/lesleyhastings)