Jessica Lynn | Photo by Scott Vincent
Yorktown’s country music star Jessica Lynn lights up the Paramount Hudson Valley Theater for a holiday show benefiting Toys for Tots.
Country-music star Jessica Lynn is a quintessential product of Westchester. The lifelong county resident and Yorktown Heights local has already starred in three televised concert specials, sang the national anthem twice at Madison Square Garden, and shared the stage with the likes of Brad Paisley and Keith Urban. On December 18, the musician will perform alongside her parents and husband during “Jessica Lynn’s A Very Merry Country Christmas,” at Peekskill’s Paramount Hudson Valley Theater. Sponsored in part by DAS Auto Parts & Accessories of Yorktown and Mahopac, the show features a children’s choir, Lynn’s seven-piece band, dancers, dazzling special effects, and of course, a visit from Saint Nick himself, with proceeds benefiting Toys for Tots Westchester. Lynn sat down with WM recently to discuss music, family, the holidays, and a mega-buzzkill called the coronavirus.
How were you introduced to music?
I come from a musical family, and we are also a band now, which really adds to the Christmas story. Having a family onstage performing the show, I think, is a really cool part of it. I grew up with both my parents playing instruments and writing music, so it was all I was ever involved with as kid. I was literally writing, playing, and singing by the time I was 3 years old. It was never a choice — it was what my heart and my gut told me to do, instinctually.
Why country music?
I really fell in love with the stories of country music when I started to write my own songs, but my music is a blend of so many things, and I think that is due to my being a New Yorker. I loved every style of music growing up. Even now, my Spotify playlist goes from Neil Diamond to the Beach Boys to Shania Twain and AC/DC. I listen to everything, and I think that’s why my music is also this blend of everything, but the foundation and the way I tell the stories is very much country.
How did the pandemic affect your career?
Like so many other musicians, both this year and last year, we lost a world tour — 100 cities and 14 different countries — so it was a very, very big hit to take, and at first, I didn’t know how to handle it.… I took the first two weeks to feel bad and go through my emotions, and then I think it was the stubborn, hard-headed, New York Italian in me who said, Okay, I am not going to let this thing beat me. So, I started live streaming and filming content. We bought new cameras and lightning and turned my living room basically into a production studio. I am proud to say that after a lot of hard work, effort, and focus, I was named a Top 40 Livestreamer of the Year by Pollstar, the world’s largest reporting agency, as well as a Top 25 Livestreamer of 2021.
Tell us about your upcoming holiday show in Peekskill.
It’s amazing touring around the world, but coming home and getting to do this family-oriented show for a really good cause is something special.… It is definitely more than a concert — it is an experience. There are special effects and, last time, there were 150 people in the show. There is something different and exciting happening in every single number. It is our fifth annual show, and it is so special to see so many people coming together for one incredible cause.
