Conversations with Jessie Chambers

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jessie Chambers.

Jessie, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I’ve been singing my whole life. I sang “Aint No Mountain High Enough” in my preschool talent show, and that was it. My parents love music. I was raised to love music, so once I started performing myself, I was hooked. I was a total theatre kid in elementary and middle school. Then, throughout high school and college, I played in different bands, sang with choral ensembles, and traveled with different groups. But I had also started writing my own songs in high school, and thats when it really hit me that I wanted to be a music artist.

I was so inspired by my favorite artist’s favorite songs. I would spend all night sitting at the piano writing songs and making up imaginary music videos for them. My mom would take me to some open mics, and I’d play some songs for friends and family here and there. I was always performing and writing, but I didn’t start putting any of it out until college.

My first big release was in 2018. I had only just put up like two songs on Soundcloud. Then I wrote this song called “Promise Me” and got connected to collaborate on it with EDM DJs Nurko and Last Heroes. We loved the song and decided to release it with me as the featured artist, and today it’s amassed almost 10 million hits collectively over multiple platforms. It was one of my first releases ever like I didn’t even have a Spotify page until this song, and watching it come out and how much it grew, just solidified even more how badly I wanted to do this for real.

After college, I moved to New York City and started working in songwriting sessions with producers and other writers. It was the first time I had ever written with other people, and I loved it. I was able to collaborate on ideas and lyrics, it totally opened up my songwriting. I spent the next year and a half playing gigs around the city, songwriter showcases, singing in restaurants, and playing the downtown bars. And I was writing and recording a bunch of new songs, for the first time getting ready to release music.

Covid hit about a week after I put out the first song. Like a lot of people, I ended up having to leave New York and move back home (shout out to my parents again) and it definitely affected me. It took some time for me to be ok with abandoning the plans I had just spent so long working towards, but eventually I got back to it. I put out a few more songs- one of them I ended up filming and releasing my first music video for, and another was featured on Spotify’s Editorial Fresh Finds Pop Playlist.

Living at home for the next two years was also where I got the inspiration for my debut EP. Up until that point I had only been writing and releasing singles, but this was the first time I felt I had a story bigger than just one song. “Emerald Hills” named after my neighborhood, was my first full project as a music artist. It came out last year in 2022, and it explores my journey with moving back into my high school bedroom, feeling all that nostalgia, and what it was like to be working towards my future while physically living in my past. “Emerald Hills” is about the struggle of growing pains, but it’s also a love letter to home.

After writing that project, I decided to move to LA. It’s been almost 2 years now and I’ve had some of the most amazing experiences and growths in my career since. I’ve worked with insanely talented producers and musicians, played some great gigs like the LA County Fair and venues like the iconic Troubadour, put together my first mini tour hitting places here and on the East Coast, and just released my most recent project, 3 new tracks called “songs for an identity crisis.”

I’m now in the process of writing with a new sound and making so much new music. So much new music that feels like me, the most me I’ve ever felt as an artist. Even as I’m writing all this, I’m seeing the growth. How each step led to the next I feel so inspired to keep creating, keep working with my sound and I cannot wait to share the new music I’ve been working on.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
As an independent artist, of course there are many obstacles and challenges we face working in the music industry, one that can often feel run by the industry more than the music. And of course, living in the era of social media, it can be challenging to find the best way to “stand out” or “compete” with all of the other amazing and talented artists also putting themselves out there.

But I’ve also faced personal challenges. Even moving to LA was really hard. I came here because I wanted a new environment to create, explore, network, and grow. And I’ve experienced so much of that. But this past year, even with all the great things I’ve started to do and accomplish, was also one of the hardest for me. The music culture and community in LA can be so inspiring- but it also isn’t easy. As a music artist, you’re constantly introducing yourself and your music to new people, new ears, and new eyes. Constantly being asked who you are. I think with all this change, moving across the country away from family and friends, working with all new people, experimenting with new ideas, and trying to see where I fit in, I started to lose myself a little bit.

It took some time to adjust, and even more time to figure out what I wanted out on the other end of it. But I didn’t give up on LA, and I especially didn’t give up on myself. I channeled those emotions into my music and I ended up writing songs that helped me see myself in ways I hadn’t in a long time. It led to 3 tracks called “songs for an identity crisis,” which I released last month. Writing these songs was what brought me out of it. And now I’m at a place where I’ve never felt more connected to myself and my music. There will always be obstacles and challenges, but I think it’s kind of weirdly special that with art, you can actually use those struggles to help you get through them.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
Working as a Creative, you really do wear so many hats. I’m a singer/songwriter/artist. I have my own music, but sometimes I write with other artists too for their own projects, or I write the toplines for DJs and EDM songs. Sometimes, I do voice work like recording vocals for a demo track or a radio jingle.

I love writing songs, I love recording and crafting a song from start to finish, and I love performing live. This past year, I started playing more full-band gigs, and it’s been literally some of the most fun I’ve had in my career so far. I still love the smaller acoustic sets, especially if you’re playing new songs for an intimate crowd. But starting to play these bigger gigs with a full band, and working on all these new arrangements of my own songs, it’s just become a whole new level for me.

Something I’m really proud of is that I recently just played at the iconic Troubadour in West Hollywood. I mean, that’s been one of my dream venues to play for as long as I can remember. My parents flew in, all my friends in LA were there, it was really a special night. In a lot of ways, you feel so accomplished and excited, but it also lit the next fire in me to keep it going.

I think being an indie artist right now kind of gives me some room to explore. I’ve gone through a major musical and artistic shift. Remember the identity crisis, haha. I was definitely living in the Pop music sphere – everything I’ve released so far is Pop/Dance/Electronic. But as I started playing these live shows, and rediscovering myself and the kind of music I wanted to make, I realized that I actually have a little bit more of a rock influence than I think I was letting come through. I love Pop music, always have always will, and I love the music I’ve put out. But the music I’m making now- it feels different. It feels better in my voice, in my body. It feels more me. So that’s something I’m really looking forward to- putting out this new sound.

What does success mean to you?
Defining success is so personal. For a long time, I definitely worked towards a version of success that actually only fulfilled other people’s definitions. I probably still do in a lot of ways, but the point is, success should look different for everybody. For me, success is accomplishing your goals. No matter how big or small, it’s being able to look at something and say, “I did that.”

Contact Info:

• Website: https://jessiechambersmusic.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jessiechambers/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jchambersmusic
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpIgGjxbUahzL2tT6GO_Psg

Image Credits
Photos taken by: Joshua Belida, Lauren Parker, Sarah Portney,