Jessica Lea Mayfield
(b. August 27, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter, from Kent, Ohio. She is known for writing dark, sad songs, with a plaintive minimalist style that draws on both country and rock music.
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JESSICA LEA MAYFIELD TICKETS
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Early years
Mayfield first performed with her family
bluegrass band One Way Rider at the age of 8. They began touring as a family band, boarding a 1956 tour bus (once belonging to
Bill Monroe,
Kitty Wells, and
Ernest Tubb) and headed south from Ohio to Tennessee. At age 11, Jessica began playing guitar and writing songs. She asked her brother David to show her a few chords, and then she started using those chords to write her own songs. Jessica would accompany her brother David at
open mike nights, often covering
Foo Fighters songs. Even today, Jessica cites
Dave Grohl as one of her major influences.
Jessica got her first break at a bar in Kent, playing for tips and free pizza every Monday. She had a fresh batch of songs she had just written after a break up with her first boyfriend. It was then that she realized she had somewhere to channel her sadness: into her music.
Studio work
White Lies EP
Rather than trying to make herself happy, Jessica immersed herself in darkness and, at age 15, recorded her first album
White Lies
in her brother's bedroom, printing only 100 copies. One of those copies fell into the hands of
Dan Auerbach of
The Black Keys. After an introduction, Mayfield and Auerbach hit the studio, laying the foundation of her debut album
With Blasphemy So Heartfelt
.
With Blasphemy So Heartfelt
Jessica's first LP was the September 16, 2008 release
With Blasphemy So Heartfelt
. The album was produced by
Dan Auerbach and recorded over a two-year span in his home studio in Akron.
With Blasphemy So Heartfelt
features Mayfield on acoustic guitar and vocals, Auerbach on a variety of instrumentation and Mayfield’s brother David on upright bass.
Dr. Dog’s Scott McMicken and Frank McElroy provide vocal harmonies on the track “I’m Not Lonely Anymore.” Says Auerbach of the recording experience, “I think she’s dark and moody in a mysterious way, not unlike
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds.” He adds, “I’m just always really excited to make music with her.”
With Blasphemy So Heartfelt
debuted with quite a buzz around it.
Pitchfork Media gave the record a rating of 8.2 out of 10. Online magazine Blurt named
With Blasphemy
the Best Album of 2008 and gave Jessica the title of Best New Artist of 2008. The album's opening track "Kiss Me Again" was featured on
The CW's hit series
Gossip Girl
on February 2, 2009, and "Bible Days" was featured on CBS's
CSI: NY
. "For Today" is featured on the
Starbucks compilation
Have You Heard?: Winter '09
. Jessica's cover of the
Buddy Holly song "
Words of Love" is featured on the
Starbucks compilation
Sweetheart: Our Favorite Artists Sing Their Favorite Love Songs
.
Collaborations
In 2007, Mayfield lent her voice to the track “Things Ain’t Like They Used To Be” on
The Black Keys’ album
Attack & Release
produced by
Danger Mouse, making her the first guest vocalist to appear on any record released by The Black Keys.
Jessica collaborated with Auerbach again on his 2009 debut solo release
Keep It Hid
, lending her vocals to the track "When The Night Comes."
Touring
In 2008, Jessica toured in support of and alongside
The Black Keys,
The Avett Brothers,
Cake,
Lucero, and Australian duo
An Horse.
In April 2009, Jessica opened 11 dates for
Ray LaMontagne, before setting out on a headlining tour that culminated with a performance at the 2009
Bonnaroo Music Festival.
In August 2009, Jessica played several shows in Europe, including performances at Gothenburg, Sweden's
Way Out West Festival, Oslo's
Øyafestivalen, and Dutch festivals
Noorderzon and
A Campingflight to Lowlands Paradise. Jessica also opened for
Band of Horses in front of a sold out crowd at
Tavastia Club in Helsinki.
References