Jaelee Roberts, a native of Nashville (Tennessee), is well-acquainted with the music industry. Born to music industry veterans, she grew up surrounded by concerts, festivals, rehearsals, business meetings and recording sessions.
Roberts began singing in church at a young age and started playing instruments at 4 with fiddle lessons. She later learned guitar, mandolin, and piano. Roberts won many music and dance competitions, but as she entered her teenage years, she became more focused on performance than competition.
Her rich voice and interpretative ability caught attention, leading to recordings with her father Danny Roberts of the bluegrass band Grascals, the Daughters of Bluegrass, and Grammy Camp.
Jaelee Roberts’ debut full-length album “Something You Didn’t Count On” showcases her musical vision and talent. The album was produced by award-winning producer-bassist Tim Surrett and features top-notch musicians like Kristin Scott Benson and Jimmy Mattingly.
The first single, “Something You Didn’t Count On” reveals Roberts’ bluegrass skills and songwriting abilities. The album also showcases Roberts’ religious faith, balladry, and bluegrass roots through tracks like “Still Waters,” “Think Again,” and “You Can’t Stop Me From Staying.” The collection includes Roberts’ original songs, gospel classics, and covers of Gram Parsons’ “Luxury Liner” and Vince Gill’s “Landslide.” The album highlights Roberts’ versatility and musicality.
“To be honest,” Roberts said, “This album is simply a dream come true for me! I have been thinking about making an album since I was just a little kid, because I’ve always known that music was going to be my lifelong pursuit and that I want to share the music in my heart with other people. I’m so thankful to Mickey Gamble and everyone at Mountain Home Music for taking a chance on me and signing me to the label when I was just 19 years old and with very little touring/stage experience. It means so much to have a group of people that believe in you, and I’ll forever be grateful to them for this opportunity.”
“The album came together in two different recording sessions and started during the height of the pandemic in 2020. Going into the studio the first time, I had a good idea about what I wanted to do, because I’d been thinking about it for a long time. I love writing songs, and it was very important to me to include music that had come from my heart so that people could really get to know me in my debut album. Then, before going in to record the second set of songs, I had time to really think about how I wanted to round out the album, and to spend time digging through material from other writers. I wanted to make sure that the songs told different stories and that the tempos were different and so on – it’s important to me that it feels like an album and not just twelve singles.”
“The experience of having these songs come to life,” Roberts concluded, “is something that I will always cherish, and I’m already anxious to do it again. I am so thrilled to share my first album filled with music that I love, and I sure hope that everyone enjoys listening to it!”
In 2023, Jaelee Roberts won the accolade of Female Vocalist of the Year, and her debut album, Something You Didn’t Count On, was named Bluegrass Album of the Year at the Society for the Preservation of Bluegrass Music of America.
(headline image: Jaelee Roberts – Photo by Sandlin Gaither)
Author: Angel Romero
Angel Romero y Ruiz has dedicated his life to musical exploration. His efforts included the creation of two online portals, worldmusiccentral.org and musicasdelmundo.com. In addition, Angel is the co-founder of the Transglobal World Music Chart, a panel of world music DJs and writers that celebrates global sounds. Furthermore, he delved into the record business, producing world music studio albums and compilations. His works have appeared on Alula Records, Ellipsis Arts, Indígena Records and Music of the World.