Jessie Baylin isn’t like other girls. She isn’t singing about the club scene, being sexy or the thrills and skills she may have to yank a guy’s crank. The early twenty something songstress has an old heart, smoky vocals and a rich soulful folk rock sound to match. She sounds like a legend waiting to start. Think Stevie Nicks at 24.
Baylin may already be famous by association, opening for the likes of Dolores O’Riordan, James Morrison and being best friends with Scarlet Johansson. But this young lady is making a name for herself and one that will be heard a lot more often. Jessie Baylin is leaving a mark.
Your first festival tour was the Montreal International Jazz Festival with Dolores O’Riordan. That is impressive.
I was so thrilled and beyond excited! It was incredible.
You called your debut album You. Why is that?
The title song was a poem I had written and the title just felt right. Of all the songs on the record it felt like the title song. Then you have my EP of five songs which is called Part of You. It all fits and just sums up the record.
What is your song “Contradicting Words” about?
It’s actually one of the first songs I’ve ever written. There was a moment in my life where I noticed that everything I did seemed to contradict itself. Every want was with some big fear.
What is the first contradicting thing about you that comes to mind?
I golf! There is nothing more that I hate than collared shirts, yet at least once a week I’m putting on khaki shorts and a collared shirt to play golf. I just love it because it’s a very focused game.
Can you break down your song “Leave Your Mark”?
“Leave Your Mark” is about someone that I dated and he was leaving. It’s about the way I’ve been in relationships, like that moment when you realize, “Oh my God, this is very real” but you’re afraid to commit. I was “wanting to love” but feared that.
Do you tell a person that you’re writing a song about them?
Oh, I don’t tell them but they usually figure it out. For a lot of older songs I wrote the person figured out quite often that it was about them.
You were just in Paris. Do you believe the city is as romantic and inspirational as it is made out to be?
Yes! Especially when you’re with your fianc