Conversations with Jameson Burt

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jameson Burt.

Hi Jameson, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I am a singer-songwriter from Orange County. My roots are the California suburbs but my music has taken me all over the States and Europe; I’ve lived in Milan, London, and of course Los Angeles. Now I’m back home in Santa Ana where I have a recording studio with my creative partner, Andrew Carter. Ever since I first picked up the guitar when I was 12, the desire to make good music took over my life & never let up. That’s really been the central focus of my life ever since, and it’s taken me through different phases over the years: studying and playing for hours every day as a teenager, playing in dive bars in high school on the weekends, and starting to discover my voice as a singer and a writer in my late teens. Once that happened, I started to venture into LA to play clubs with my band and with Echo Echo who I played guitar for at the time. At that point, I got really into studio recording as well and had the chance to make a couple of records at Henson Studios on La Brea. I’ve been recording and releasing my own records ever since and touring all over the States and Europe. Through it all, I have to say the most important thing for me has been the writing.

From very early on, even when I could barely play the guitar, I started writing my own ideas and that has been the deepest passion for me ever since: not just playing music, but creating it from scratch. I’m always searching for new ways to communicate and connect through sounds and words. That’s the biggest rush for me. That pursuit has driven me for years to constantly be writing, to produce all my solo records, to write and perform with other bands, and it led me to sign with BMG publishing as a writer. I’ve had a lot of amazing opportunities come my way to travel and perform live both with my band and as a solo performer. I had the pleasure of touring in Europe and the States with the amazing Rival Sons, and in 2019 I had the honor of touring stadiums in Italy with Vasco Rossi. At the moment, we’re all missing the live music experience but I’ve taken the opportunity to keep diving into my writing and studio work, and in the last year I’ve released some of my favorite music I’ve ever made. The solitude of the last year has taken my music in a more intimate direction; you can really hear that on my latest EP, “Chloe” that came out in the fall. Right now, I’m really excited to be finishing a new album that will come out in the spring.

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?
For obvious reasons the past year has been the most challenging of my life and career. I’ve been a working performer for all my adult life, so to have live shows suddenly not be possible, that’s been really tough. But I’m always thankful to be making music in any setting, so it’s been a great time to focus on writing and I’ve also been performing weekly on Instagram Live every Friday night. That’s been unexpectedly rewarding and a lovely way to keep putting on live shows and connecting with listeners and fans.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I’ve explored different genres of music and different sounds over the years, but at my core I’m a singer-songwriter and a guitar player. I love performing live with a big loud band, I love working in the studio and exploring how sounds and textures can communicate emotions, but I think what I’m most proud of is that I feel I can hold my own with any audience if I just have a guitar and my voice. I feel there’s so much expressive power in just those two instruments and I’m always striving to push my ability to connect with people through them. Anything else I do stems from that core. Looking back, I’m really proud that I was able to stand on stage alone in Italy in front of 60,000 people and do what I do and create an authentic experience with that audience in that incredible setting. That was like competing in the Olympics for me! I’ll always treasure that experience.

Before we go, is there anything else you can share with us?
I’m really excited to be finishing this new record and can’t wait for people to hear it. I’ll be releasing a single in late May or early June, and a full album in July most likely. Also really glad to hear that venues in Southern California are starting to open back up and I’m working with a couple of my favorite clubs in LA and OC to plan live shows in the next couple months. Thank God that’s coming back, I know we’ve all missed it desperately. Hope to see you all at a show very soon!

Contact Info:

• Email: jamesonmakesmusic@gmail.com
• Website: jamesonmakesmusic.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/jamesonmakesmusic
• Facebook: facebook.com/jamesonmakesmusic
• Youtube: youtube.com/jamesonmakesmusic

Image Credits:
Jacopo Lorenzini