You can meet the most interesting people at the Laguna Lake Dog Park in San Luis Obispo. Case in point: a young singer-songwriter named Jamie Pennelly, whose sultry voice gives off a Norah Jones mashed with Alicia Keys vibe. One recent morning conversation between us quickly morphed from dogs to music. Jamie has a passion for both. We decided to have a longer conversation without the dogs.
David Congalton: You have a beautiful voice. When did you start singing?
Jamie Pennelly: Thank you! In choir in second grade. I was so shy, but mustered up the courage to raise my hand when the choir teacher came into our classroom to recruit. I’ve never stopped singing since. I remember a high school choir competition and singing our song “There’s No Business, Like Show Business” at the top of my lungs. Singing provided a space for me to express myself and it felt great.
DC: That’s quite a song! So, when did you first appear on stage? What do you remember from that first experience?
JP: Freshman year in high school for the musical Bye Bye Birdie. I was part of the opening act and I loved every bit of it: the makeup, the lights, costume, singing and dancing. My family was stunned to see me singing and dancing without holding back because I was a shy kid. In fact, I stunned myself. I didn’t know I had it in me to be on stage.
DC: How confident are you as a performer and how did you get to that point? Do you find yourself ever questioning whether you belong up on stage? It must be nerve wracking to perform.
JP: I feel confident as a performer. It took a long time for me to get to this point, but I loved the process. I started pursuing music when I was in Chicago in 2010, and I remember my voice being shaky and my eye twitching at my first open mic. But I kept on showing up every month. When I got my first gig in 2013, I remember everyone at that gelato shop ignoring me and I definitely questioned myself then, but something in me felt like this was something I had to pursue. After 15 years of those experiences and overcoming doubt, I love performing. I am fully present to the songs I’m singing, the people present, and to myself. I feel I’ve found my purpose.
DC: Singer/songwriter. Which part of that is more challenging? What part is more fun?
JP: Singing is more challenging because there is so much to singing and so much to master. Now that I’m a trained singer, I know of all these techniques and I want to master them. It’s a good challenge though because it keeps singing interesting for me. As for songwriting, it’s pure joy to me. My experience with songwriting is similar to something I read about Stevie Wonder’s songwriting where he feels the songs are given to him. I feel an urge or inspiration to write a song and it just flows out. I think that’s so fun, but maybe I’ll try to study songwriting techniques sometime. Right now, I’m enjoying how it’s just like play.
DC: You recently released your first EP, Something Beautiful. What do you write about? What draws your ear?
JP: In a nutshell, I write about living life to the fullest. My life from the beginning has been about overcoming obstacles and since I write from personal experience, the message of my songs is usually about how I got out of those obstacles. The song “Drive” is about these weekly fun days I do to explore and do something fun. I did them to get out of depression, which eventually led me to feeling like myself again, get a job, and pursue music again. In “Drive” you’ll hear that I love singing with a soulful voice.
DC: I especially love the song “Butterflies.” That was written for your husband, correct? Did that song just come flowing out of you? And how did he react?
JP: Yes, I wrote “Butterflies” for my husband. I normally don’t talk about him. Brent doesn’t like much attention and I keep the most special things to myself, but there was “something” I wanted to capture in song. It was the way he made me feel. I sat down and discovered a chord progression that conveyed that feeling and the lyrics flowed out naturally. It’s one of my favorite songs to sing. Brent thinks it is genius how you can repeat the line “You give me butterflies” for the chorus and it sounds so good. Even though he doesn’t like attention, I like to point him out if he’s in the audience when I sing this song.
DC: What brought you to the Central Coast and how do you feel about the local music scene?
JP: We moved to SLO because my in-laws live here and we wanted our son to grow up with grandparents. We have weekly dinners with them, they get to go to Grandparents Day at my son’s school. I love having this experience for my family. And I love the local music scene. There are so many opportunities here. I especially love the community in SLO. We’ve lived here for over seven years and it’s awesome to know people from various places around town and give them an excuse to get out and have some fun at one of my gigs.
DC: What are you working on now?
JP: My first full length album. I love gigging the most because it’s so energizing to sing live. Recording music is a different ballgame and challenging for me. You have to be so detail-oriented, which I am not. But I’m starting to enjoy the process. Ever since the experience of releasing my first EP, I’ve enjoyed hearing the end product of all this work. Having my songs streaming on the digital platforms for anyone to listen to in the world feels like such an accomplishment. And I’m loving working with my producer Lionel Valdelion to make my vision for my album a reality.
DC: You’re very active on social media. How important is that to a singer-songwriter today?
JP: I heard it’s important to be active on social media, but I personally don’t like being told what to do or having to do something out of necessity. So, for me, I use it because I enjoy networking, sharing my creative projects, and getting excited about what others are doing. I think I have this good balance with social media because I started using it just recently. For many years, I lived offline and hardly used my phone. In hindsight, I think I did that to stay grounded. It’s easy to get lost in the digital world.
DC: What music or singers do you enjoy?
JP: I love singers with a soulful voice like Norah Jones and Alicia Keys. I also particularly love songs from the ’70s. My parents were big music fans and always had music playing. I grew up listening to Beatles, Carole King, Ella Fitzgerald, Donna Summer, Bee Gees, and Eagles. I loved hearing these songs playing from my dad’s stereo system. Because of this experience, I play a lot of ’70s music at my gigs.
DC: Since we first connected at the dog park, you must tell us about your dog!
JP: I love my dog! She’s like a “mini me,” but with fur. We’re both stubborn, silly, and food motivated. Her name is Ari and she’s a beagle. My husband and I didn’t know much about beagles. We thought they were just like labs who are loyal and eager to please. Because of her beagle nose, Ari wanders off often to follow scents. She’s also so independent that it’s been difficult to train her. Regardless, we love her so much. Finding the dog park has been great because she gets a nice big enclosed place to play with other furry friends and I get to meet cool people like you!
Editor’s Note: This interview has been edited for clarity and length.