My favourite things about festivals? The music, of course, but also the opportunity to interview loads of incredible artists. After years of being a fan and loving her music, I finally got the chance to sit down with the wonderful Jillian Jacqueline - check out my review of her show here, and then read on for our chat C2C Country 2 Country, advice to her former self, and why she only writes sad songs - enjoy!
Ciara’s Country (CC): After seeing her perform both in Europe and Australia, I’m joined today by an artist that I've been looking forward to interviewing for years. If you've followed my content, you'll know I'm such a huge fan of Jillian Jacqueline – welcome, Jillian!
Jillian Jacqueline: Thank you, Ciara! That was a very sweet introduction.
CC: I hope you don’t mind me fangirling throughout this interview.
JJ: Haha, that’s alright with me!
CC: We’re speaking at the 10th anniversary of C2C Country 2 Country music festival, but of course this isn’t your first time here – you’re returning after a long five years away. What’s it like to be back?
JJ: First of all, I can’t believe it's been ten years of C2C now! I was here five years ago, and then it still felt a little bit new. Now I'm here after everything we've all been through in the last five years, and it's overwhelming! I said it on stage too, there was something so special that happened when I was here in 2018. I felt such a genuine connection with so many people and we’ve stayed friends through the last five years.
So many of the country fans here kept me going through the pandemic – there were a lot of UK fans sending messages, listening to songs and staying in touch - that was so helpful and supportive. I really feel like there’s such a heart here for what a storyteller has to say. It's not just about the songs either, I feel like UK fans are really in it for the long haul with my life and everything too! They've paid attention to my marriage and having a baby and all the things that I've gone through throughout my career and it blows my mind. Coming back felt like a family reunion almost.
CC: Of course, so much has changed for you in the last five years – you’ve gotten married, had a baby, put out a new record. If you could go back, what would you say to 2018 Jillian when she was here performing for the first time?
JJ: Get a grip (laughs). No, I would probably say ‘try to slow down and take a deep breath. Try to enjoy it’. When I was here the first time, I was a little bit on a roller coaster - everything was moving really, really fast. I’d just gotten my first radio single, I was putting out EPs and was kept very, very busy all the time. I don't feel like I had the perspective to really know what to soak up and what to appreciate. I think we all go through that in the beginning of our careers, and now in hindsight, I realised I would tell myself ‘it's going to go so fast so try to enjoy it and don't stress too much about what's happening next’.
CC: Very sage advice! Are there moments that you did take that advice?
JJ: Unfortunately, I think some things you have to learn the hard way. I don't think I could have even heard that advice back then. I was too full steam ahead, very tunnel vision, eyes on the prize. I really had such a perspective shift through the last five years in a really beautiful way. I've said it before, but sometimes I think growth feels a lot like falling apart, and that's what that felt like - it felt like a lot of things got dismantled personally and professionally, but I feel like I learned so many things that have helped me now with this next leg of my career.
CC: Amazing to see you both then and now. We’ve all been really looking forward to your return – how have you been enjoying your time at C2C so far?
JJ: Loving it! I just love London with all my heart. We don't have the history back home the way you guys have it here. I'm such a sucker for beautiful architecture, and your accents are so cute! All those things. We're staying in a different part of the city that I haven't seen as much before, so I'm loving that aspect as well.
It's so cool to see how many new country fans there are too. There are people that are seeing me for the first time now, and there are also people that saw me five years ago, and have been along for the ride. I'm so impressed with how each year it feels like UK country fans have really continued to grow and figured out better ways to do things. It's such a cool festival to be a part of, knowing everybody out there and walking through the crowd. I always think ‘these are people that are all so happy to be here!’ It’s a really wholesome festival, I really like that vibe.
CC: A lot of love for the UK! Your music has taken you all over the world - what have been some of the highlights?
JJ: Oh, gosh. Well, I'm just a huge travel geek, I really love soaking up different cities and the energy, and it's really interesting to me how different cities and different people receive music differently. You know, you can be in one city and it’s so different to anywhere else - like when I was in Berlin, the atmosphere and the energy in the room was so different to when I was in Manchester. Not in a bad way, it's just that people come to it with their own experiences and that influences how they interpret the music. I really love that.
What's exciting to me is experiencing what country music means for you guys over here in Europe. I imagine a lot of people don't come from a stereotypical ‘country lifestyle’, at least in the same way that country music does in the States. That's what's so cool though, because you guys are looking at through a different lens - you're really listening without any preconceived notions about what it is. I think that's why UK listeners are weeding out certain artists from others because they’re listening with a much more critical ear. They’re thinking ‘do I believe them? Is this story true?’ I really admire that about you guys, because you're very keen listeners, very intuitive.
CC: A lot of artists I’ve interviewed this weekend have praised UK fans for actually listening to the music.
JJ: Yeah, you really do. Sometimes in the States, I've struggled with feeling like shows are like a party. I don't listen to music to party - I listen to music to feel things and to cry, so I don't really want to get super drunk and forget what happened at a show. I want to be there like literally taking in every single word. I think there's more people like me here.
CC: I love how you said you listen to music to cry because I always find it such an interesting juxtaposition to see how happy and chipper you are now and when you’re on stage, and then your songs always have me in floods of tears! I’ve heard you say before that you only write sad songs – what is it about sad songs that appeal to you so much?
JJ: I think music is our way of channelling our deepest, darkest parts of ourselves that we don't always show to other people. The humour and the sort of ‘good time Charlie’, the people-pleaser that gets on stage, she is me, but there’s also a me that I don't really let other people see until I sit down and write a song. All the darkness, the sadness, the questions, the uncertainty and the struggle of who I am – that all gets to live in songs.
I think it's important to show that we're all multifaceted. I can be a wacko, weird, funny person, and then I can also be really introspective and philosophical and heavy. Humans are complex, and it's important to let all those parts of yourself come out into the light.
Don't go anywhere! We had so much more to discuss, so make sure you check out Part 2, coming soon - stay tuned to @CiarasCountry to be the first to know when it's posted!
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