Swag Spotlight Archives

New York Country Swag 2018 Artist to Watch and our next Swag Spotlight, Jillian Jacqueline, grew up in Pennslyvania where she found herself the odd one out, listening to country music. Her mother who was from South Carolina only listened to country music and CMT was the only television station they would watch, she recalled during our recent interview.

From a young age, music was important to Jacqueline and her entire family. Her sisters were in a family band that sang at weddings and festivals. They covered everything from The Beatles and Carol King to James Taylor and The Eagles, rounding out her childhood influences. Moving to New York City with her family when she was thirteen, her musical palette expanded. Throughout her teenage years she was a fan of punk rock bands such as Third Eye Blind and All American Rejects. “That heavily shaped my melodic sense on top of the country music that I grew up on. Now what I do is sort of a melting pot of all of those different influences. As it is with a lot of artists, I feel like it is the roots of what you grew up on and then the music you got into in your teen college years, that all meshes together.” she tells us.

Jillian Jacqueline was signed to Big Loud Records in March of 2017, she released her first project for the record label, Side A back in September. The project as a whole is in one word, vulnerable. Showcasing her songwriting skills and unique take on the country genre, Side A has a little something for all fans and is completely relatable. The lead single from the EP is “Reasons” and has racked up over 12 million spins on Spotify since it was released. The song was written after Jacqueline decided to tap into her emotions and use her songwriting sessions as therapy after a tough breakup. “It turned out to be some of the most honest stuff I have ever written,” she explained. Just a week ago, she made her late night TV debut on Seth Meyers to sing “Reasons.” Check out the video below.

Each song highlights a personal detail of her life, which has prompted fans to reach out and explain how the songs have helped them. “I like to say it was sort of like jumping off a cliff naked, releasing these songs, it was so true to life,” she laughed. Proud of the human connection she has created, she says, “That’s why we are here”. When she recorded the songs for Side A, she explained she had seven more songs that she recorded as well, so hopefully, in 2018 she will release her first full-length album.

Jacqueline hits the road this summer with opening slots on two of the hottest tours this year, Thomas Rhett’s Life Changes Tour and Brett Eldredge’s The Long Way Tour. She will also be joined by another one of our NYCS 2018 Artists to Watch, Jordan Davis on The White Wine and Whiskey Tour.

For more about Jillian Jacqueline be sure to be following her on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Click here for her full list of tour dates for the new year.

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– Team NYCountry Swag

When Kaylee Rutland was just eight years old she recalls raising her hand to sing a solo during her church choir show and was immediately bit by the performance bug. “It was the best feeling in the world and I knew I wanted to do this all of the time. It is something that I will always remember.” She spent her childhood in Flower Mound, Texas, and grew up listening to Christian music and Radio Disney, before falling in love with country music. “It’s always been country music for me, in particular, I would listen to Reba, Carrie Underwood, and Sara Evans,” she recalls.

After graduating high school, Rutland made the move to Nashville to attend Belmont University as a Music Business major. She graduated this past December and attributes so much to her college experience. Having heard from songwriters in the industry how they wished they had gotten a degree in the inner workings of the music industry, she decided to pursue that track and outside of class take voice lessons and go to songwriting sessions, ultimately creating a good balance of knowledge. “Getting to take what I learned in the classroom at Belmont and then apply it to my own career and mix being a student with being a musician has been fantastic,” she says of her four years at Belmont.

Her EP, That Side of Me, released in October features five original songs, all of which Rutland co-wrote as well as a new twist on Adele’s “Rumor Has It”. She explains how some of the tracks were written four years ago while others were written and recorded just months before the EP was released. “I wanted a variety of songs that showcased a different side of me as an artist, as a 22-year-old girl and I hope that each of the songs speak out to other people and show them different sides of them as well,” she says of the project. She has learned that being vulnerable and going into a songwriting session and opening up to the other writers is the way to find great, honest lyrics. “That’s what I love about country music, so much of it is real, it’s really just somebody sitting there with a guitar and pouring our their thoughts,” Rutland says.

Kaylee decided that the EP should close with a cover, and she knew that she could take a song that wasn’t a traditional country song and transform it into something new with an added twist. After one of her bandmates suggested an Adele song, she recalls laughing to herself thinking she couldn’t sing an Adele song, however, she took the upbeat revenge song and made it her own.

Looking forward to life as a college graduate, Rutland is excited to have her classroom days behind her and not have to balance her school schedule with her music career. “I plan on doing a lot more widespread performances, I am always performing in Texas and in Nashville, but I would love to get to more places around the country that I haven’t been before,” she explains. For more about Kaylee Rutland be sure to be following her on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

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Thanks for supporting Country Music in NYC!

Click Here to learn more about NYCountry Swag
+ Follow our Country Music Adventures on Instagram, @NYCOUNTRYSWAG!

– Team NYCountry Swag

Swag Spotlight: Jillian Jacqueline

Swag Spotlight: Kaylee Rutland