Having grown tired of both the hippies and incessant rain of Portland, Oregon, Jessica now lives in sunny Nashville, TN. After fronting her own Honky Tonk and Americana band for the past number of years in the Northwest, she has found herself tracing her musical roots back to the mountain and classic country mecca that is Tennessee.

Jessica's grandfather was a singing waiter at a place called Knickerbocker's on the Boardwalk in Coney Island. Her mother is a jazz pianist, composer and arranger - Dad a former bus operator and all-around great guy. Having learned to pick traditional folk music as a teenager, the ballads of the celtic and British isles found her somehow and much to her surprise, sound much like "mountain minor" in the Appalachian traditions. She was happy to work as a researcher on the Woody Guthrie documentary for PBS in 2006 entitled American Masters: Ain't Got No Home.

Jessica's deep love and respect for classic country music informs both her musical efforts and 'day' job as Assistant Book Buyer at the Ernest Tubb Record Shops in Nashville. Her 2009 (self-titled) EP received reviews on Americana-UK (website), The Portland Mercury, Brooklyn Country (website) and is available on iTunes and other online music sources.

Look out for Jessica's upcoming Digital 45 release May 11, 2010 of the Stiles composition, Tennessee Line - featuring Josh Williams on guitar and mandolin, Tim Crouch on fiddle, Elio Giordano on upright bass and Randy Kohrs on resophonic guitar and harmony vocals - recorded at Slack Key Studio, Nashville, TN.

Photo by melani brown