ACROSS the world, people grow up dreaming of becoming musicians but for many this remains a dream, unable to tackle hurdles which litter the path along the way. However, for Jessica Sweetman from Looe, this wasn’t an option, doing everything possible to achieve her goals of breaking into the world of music.

At 16, Jess and her family moved to Looe, and with a passion for music and accompanied by her father, she began performing around the pub scene. Performing all across the county, Jess had to balance school and music. 

Jess explained: “I got given an ultimatum as I’d always take Fridays off because I would go and do gigs. At the time, the headteacher said ‘I think you’re going to have to make a decision as to whether you do music or college’, and without a second thought, I chose music.”

After performing across Cornwall, Jess eventually moved to London, singing in venues within the city. However, work became harder, which pushed her to make a bold decision.

“I was living in London, I was doing a lot of gigs up there, and I was burning myself out a little bit. I was performing in cigar rooms and a lot of pubs, and it was really hard. So I decided to just book a one way ticket to America and see what I could do there. I was determined I was going to get a deal. Within a few days of making the decision, I booked a ticket.

“I decided I was going to go to Nashville, I didn’t know anyone and couldn’t afford hotels, but I managed to get my hands on a 24 hour key-card for the BMG record company offices. I got given it to write there during the day but I found that it was 24 hours. The building was amazing, it had showers, coffee machines, endless wine and champagne so I thought I could make this my home.”

Having found a base, Jess spent her time writing music during the night, sleeping on sofas around the building, eventually completing an entire album. However, after two weeks, she was discovered and asked to return her key-card. 

“I asked for a meeting with the president of the label, he agreed to meet me and when he did, he asked where I live, and I responded, here. He thought I was crazy but I told him ‘you’re going to listen to what I just wrote’.” 

After listening to her music, Jess was signed to the label. A few years on, ‘JESSIKA’, has now released an album and has more recently released her first Christmas single, ‘Christmas Without You’. 

Despite being on the other side of the Atlantic, Jessica continues to have support from people here in the Duchy.

“The support I have from Cornwall is unbelievable, I’ve had such a long journey and everyone has supported me so much! From being 16 years old and singing in bars and pubs, to now where I am, every day I get support. People have been so nice!”