Jesse james country singer photo stitch

By Emma Schwichtenberg

Jesse James' musical journey began in the quiet, small town of Eastern Washington, where he grew up.

His mother, who had moved from California, was always searching for something new to engage with, and she found her passion in live music. Local bands would occasionally pass through town, touring from Seattle to BOMA, and his mom started attending these shows.

Before long, she began taking young James along, and from the moment he set foot in a live music venue, something clicked.

Jesse james country singer photo stitch

By the age of five or six, he was already fixated on one idea: he was going to be a musician, and the guitar would be his instrument.

As James got older, his commitment to music only intensified. At eight years old, he received his first guitar for Christmas, and from then on, he was consumed by the dream of performing live.

Watching musicians on stage ignited a fire in him—he didn’t just want to play music, he