From singing in pubs as a small girl to performing on the big stage: Aspiring artist Jessica Rose's story so far.

Jessica Rose Biggs on growing up, self-discovery and having her makeup done professionally in a Tesco Car Park.

Jess performing to a crowd at Frog & Fiddle

“I come from a family where no one plays an instrument or anything,” she says, smiling at me. We’re sitting upstairs in a rather loud Café Nero, and I’m worried my phone mic may not pick up any sound, but Jess’ vibrant personality and loud voice have absolutely no effect on the noise.

The drum and bass vocalist is now studying at the University of Gloucestershire, which is a significant move from her hometown of St Austell, Cornwall. “I think my parents knew that I was going to be a performer, I was always the one that was really loud.”

Jessica Rose clearly has a bright future ahead of her. She has the drive needed to be successful in such a tough industry. The 19-year-old has so far appeared on BBC Sounds five times, and already has multiple gigs booked in for the summer.

Jess in her element as a young girl

From a young age, she was always singing, whether that was karaoke in the lounge, in front of her Mum in her bedroom, or on their classroom stage in school, but Jess admits, she hated singing in front of people at first! “There was a band of four boys which I joined in Year 9, and it was quite late on to start. I never took singing lessons; I was in a choir when I was younger, but that was a group setting.

“When I did my first gig back at school, my singing was alright, but my stage presence was awful! I was wearing my school uniform and I kept pulling on my skirt. My Mum would be like ‘You need to just stop standing there.’ I think being shoved in the deep end that early, made my journey go really fast.

“Secondary school was when I realised that I could sing in front of people, and I had a lot of good feedback which really helped my confidence,” Jess says, taking a sip of her coffee. I ask her about college, and she says she took photography, fashion textiles and a National Certificate in Rock and Pop Performance. “I was worried that because I have no music theory that I couldn’t do it, but then I went to college, and it properly took off.”

Jess joined a band at college but then they all parted ways, and she realised that it was challenging to hold a band together. Going solo felt like the right pathway for her.

“There’s this lady who runs most of the festivals in Cornwall, and she came to my college one day and we all auditioned. Everyone came quite unprepared, but I had printed out a whole hardback book of everything that I had done."

“She texted me that evening and said that she had an opportunity for me, which was Tunes in the Dunes (a three-day festival in Cornwall) where I did an acoustic set. And then she texted me again and offered me another set at Wild Gardens. I wasn’t expecting it to be that big but then she told me I was going to be on the main stage.”

Jess at her festival set

It’s quite a new festival and hasn’t been around for that long, but when Jess turned up, the ‘Ghost’ singer Ella Henderson was sound checking before her!

“I was backstage with my friend who was DJing with me, freaking out because Ella Henderson was here!”

She even had her makeup done before one of her festival sets in a Tesco car park because the lady lost her keys to the salon. “She was like ‘We’re going to have to just do it now!’"

Jess has always been hesitant about her lack of knowledge of music theory. The biggest barrier for her has been writing original songs, especially since she went from performing covers to making liquid-type drum and bass.

“I’m good at writing the lyrics and the melody and singing it, but I’ve always had to work with another person who can make the track.

Jess says she feels like she’s always relying on someone else, which is the main reason she came to university. She’s taking it as it goes, and her drive really shines through her persona.

“I want to make sure that I can make stuff by myself. I’ve always been interested in DJs who can also sing so I want to try and learn to DJ too.”

Her advice to aspiring musicians? “Find another hobby that can help you gateway into the music industry and think outside of the box. Don’t think that it will just come to you. You must push yourself.

“You have to be proactive, and I think that’s why a lot of people give up.”

Please support her music by listening to her Spotify here!

All photo credits to Jessica Rose Biggs.