I'm a "real" musician after all!

Last week I shared a treasured memory about my grandmother's warm response to my first solo album, "Shine". After a lifetime of not feeling like a "real musician" in the shadow of her classical training, her kind words helped me embrace the opposite. I was a real musician after all! The songs I had written and recorded were proof.

Since that project, I've had the privilege of making several others. Looking back, I seem to have acquired a time-capsule in music form for every major season of my adult life. "Shine" was written in Virginia as I was healing from one of the most traumatic experiences I've ever walked through. "Wildfire" was a compilation of five songs I wrote during my first season in Nashville as I tried to find my voice both as a songwriter and worship leader. "Honestly" was written with and recorded by the band Brothers McClurg while I was living and leading worship in New Jersey. Fun fact and side note: this one miraculously made it to the top 5 on iTunes Christian chart and I still can't believe that actually happened!

And now, "Dogwood Tree" is coming to you this year in this new season in Nashville. It is a five-song EP that I am releasing a song at a time through CGS Records. It was a labor of love I started writing in Virginia while living in my grandmother's farmhouse during the pandemic. I couldn't help but reflect on and write about her well-lived life as I took care of the house she passed away in at 101 years of age. Being there also gifted me the opportunity to be near my maternal grandparents in their decline. Naturally, I started writing their stories too in a song called "The Good Life". I'm excited to share it with you as my next single on September 24.

I hope you'll stick with me on the journey both here and on social media. If you're not already signed up for my quick weekly updates, you can easily do that at jessicadipuma.com! I'm also @itsjessicadipuma on Instagram.

There's much more to come and I thank you sweetly (as my granddaddy would say) for joining me! :)