Raised two hours south of Seattle, Jess grew up beneath the drizzling skies and lush landscapes of the Pacific Northwest. “I’m a mountain girl at heart,” she says, nodding to the scenery that shaped albums like her acclaimed debut, Such a Long Way, and its follow-up, Brighter Eyes, with the woozy, water colored beauty of her native Washington. She created both records in her adopted hometown of Nashville, a city whose songwriters had first captivated her attention as a child. Morning after morning, a young Jess would listen to records by Alan Jackson, Miranda Lambert, and Shania Twain on her way to school, building the foundation for the unique sound — a blend of northwestern and southeastern influences — that would eventually take her across America.
