Jess & The Bandits - Press Release
RELEASE: Already Written (1st March 2019)
FOR FANS OF: Lady Antebellum, The Wandering Hearts, The Band Perry
2018 was a very big year for Jess & The Bandits. Having released their sophomore album Smoke & Mirrors to critical acclaim and Top 10 Official Country Chart success, they once again hit the road for a series of sold out headline shows and festival appearances. However, it was for more personal reasons that 2018 was such a year of change. Vocalist Jessica Clemmons not only started 2018 as a newly married woman, but she also found out mid-way through the year that she and her photographer husband, Chris, were expecting their first child.
It is this key life change that is so poignant as the band build towards the release of their new single Already Written. Co-written by Jessica, Red Sky July and Alisha’s Attic’s Shelly Poole (Kylie, Janet Jackson, Sophie Ellis-Bextor) and A1’s Ben Adams (JLS, Markus Feehily, Sam Bailey), the song surprisingly tells a love story that would echo in Jessica’s life just a few months after it was written.
I actually wrote this song 4 months before I met my husband. If you asked me in that writing session if I thought I’d ever meet someone and be married a little over a year later, I would have put money down that I wouldn’t. It’s funny how quick life can change. Also proof that our stories are already written, we just have to be patient! That’s the hard part! But usually things exceed your expectations!
Having turned to her co-writers and opened up her most vulnerable inner thoughts, Already Written’s tender, emotional delivery showcases Jess & The Bandits at their most personal. Having been so raw and real with her story, Jess had fears that her fans may not connect with her at her most intimate.
Because this was one of the more personal songs on the album, I was so worried of what people would think. I was so please with the reaction when the album was released. People seem to love it as much as I do. We actually never played it live on tour so when we hit the road at the end of the year, I’ll have to put it in the set!
With her personal life going from strength to strength, Jess & The Bandits have also really found their feet since undergoing some major line-up changes. With Luke, Callum, Chris and Jake having joined the band following the departure of the original Bandits, the quintet have been thrilling fans with their reinvigorated live set and irresistible on-stage chemistry.
JATB has had some serious changes since the beginning but I love where we are right now. The Bandits are some of the most talented and humble people I’ve worked with. They just love what they do. That comes across on stage. When we hit the road this time last year with a new lineup, it was like a breath of new life. The crowds could feel it, we could feel it. It was exactly what needed to happen to allow JATB to be the band that it needs to be and the room to grow the way it should.