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🇳🇵 Nepal /Culture & Society

Jessica Lynn on Nepali music, artistic ambition and making a living from music

From Kathmandu Post · () English

Summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

Interview Named sources Context piece
  • American country musician Jessica Lynn visited Nepal through the US Embassy’s Arts & Music Envoy Program, performing, collaborating and leading workshops with Nepali musicians.
  • Lynn described how she developed a country music career in New York and built an early television project with support from her family.
  • She also discussed working with sarangi player Kiran Nepali and the knowledge young musicians need to build sustainable careers.

Jessica Lynn arrived in Nepal as part of the US Embassy Nepal’s Arts & Music Envoy Program and spent her visit performing, collaborating with local artists and leading workshops on songwriting, copyright and the business of music. She also began the conversation by expressing heartbreak over the loss of life and devastation caused by the Bhote Koshi flood.

Lynn, a New Yorker who built a career in country music, said the genre did not have much popularity or cultural cachet when she was growing up. She started her first band at 13 and played rock and roll because country music was not considered cool. New York City did not even have a country music radio station.

First of all, before we begin, my fellow band members and I are heartbroken by the tragic loss of life and devastation from the Bhote Koshi flood. Our hearts go out to all of Nepal, especially the families and loved ones of those who lost their lives.

· Jessica LynnLynn opened the interview by expressing sympathy after the Bhote Koshi flood.

Her connection to the genre began at home, where her father played country music. The sounds and stories stayed with her, and she eventually began writing country songs without consciously deciding to do so. She took that as a sign that music was the path she should follow.

Country music wasn’t popular, and it certainly wasn’t cool to listen to it.

· Jessica LynnShe explained the cultural environment in New York when she began playing music.

When Lynn wanted to record a CD, her father suggested making a video instead of a demo. Coming from a working-class family with limited money, she used her credit cards, hired the cheapest camera crew available, built the sets herself and borrowed a venue that had not yet opened. The resulting show reached national television through PBS and was later picked up in New York, Montana, Wyoming and other states.

That project began in 2014. Music remains a family undertaking for Lynn: her father plays bass, her mother sings and plays piano, her sister works with the crew, and her husband is the lead guitarist. Even her rescue dog travels with the band as its stage manager.

You’re different. You’re a New Yorker doing country music. Why don’t you try something different? Let’s film a video and see what happens.

· Jessica Lynn’s fatherHer father encouraged her to make a video instead of recording a conventional demo.
About this summary

Originally published by Kathmandu Post. Summarized and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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