Check Out Jackson Emmer’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jackson Emmer. 

Hi Jackson, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I started learning guitar in high school after hearing a recording of Jimi Hendrix. I didn’t even know those sounds were coming from an electric guitar. Once I found out and took a trip to Guitar Center, I was immediately hooked. While studying visual art in college, I spent all of my free time working on music. A few faculty members encouraged me to switch my major to music, and I’m grateful that they did. I began making very, very DIY albums on a single microphone in my dorm room. They weren’t good, but I was learning. 

After college, I began touring around New England in a string band playing old-time and bluegrass music. I then bounced around the country for a few years, taking odd jobs to support my music habit. I played 100+ gigs a year from 2012 to 2017 before releasing my first proper solo album “Jukebox” in 2018. This record was featured in Rolling Stone, which instantly changed my life. 

I was able to transition out of playing bar gigs, and into listening rooms, house concerts, and even a few festivals. I began producing records for other people and co-writing with other songwriters. I also won a few awards for my songwriting in national contests, which was reassuring. 

These days, I am working on my “22 in ’22” project. This means releasing 22 singles in 2022, which is a bit of an undertaking, but I’m enjoying the challenge. I also have several small-scale tours in the works, and concerts and songwriting retreats announced. Planning live music has been challenging in the COVID era, but I’m chipping away at it. 

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Has it been a smooth road?! Of course not. I have been rejected hundreds or thousands of times for musical opportunities I’ve wanted. Even though I have a lot happening, and plenty of shows on the books, I am still rejected daily. It just comes with the life of a “freelance creative.” 

I have run out of money several times and had to quit, get a job, save up, and try again. I have had relatives bail me out. I’ve been beyond lucky. I’ve had cars die or get totaled. I have worked for months to release a song or record, and then have almost nobody care or notice that I released new music. It’s like it never happened. 

That said, I have only been fired from one gig in my 10+ years of doing this. I have had countless people support me and my music over the years, or come to a show, or buy a record, or offer a genuine cuts-to-the-bone compliment about what my music has meant to them. These things have all kept me going when the outlook is bleak. I am far from a household name, but I believe my music has something to offer, and an important place in this world. The people have told me so. 

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I am mostly a singer and songwriter in the Americana/Texas, transcendental cowboy-poet vein of roots music. Three chords and the truth, whenever possible. I am also a producer, meaning I help other artists make their best record yet. People often compare my writing to that of John Prine, Townes Van Zandt, and Guy Clark. I am humbled by the comparison. My favorite songwriters have used simple, relatable language, to tell everyday stories in uncommon ways. I strive to do the same.

Do you have any memories from childhood that you can share with us?
Before moving to Colorado when I was 15, I grew up in Palo Alto, California. It never snowed there, but one time, the city trucked a sandbox full of snow down from the sierras. All us Cali kids flocked downtown to play in the box of snow. It was probably 8’x8′, with 100+ kids all over it. Within 5 minutes, the snow was more like a 7-11 frosty covered in dirt. We didn’t care. It felt like Christmas in July. 

Contact Info:

• Email: jemmer.music@gmail.com
• Website: https://www.jacksonemmer.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jacksonemmer/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/jemmermusic/videos
• Other: https://jacksonemmer.bandcamp.com/music

Image Credits:
Olive & West Photography