Chicago singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, Jeremy Gentry, has begun making a name for himself through his smooth vocals, relatable lyrics, and fun melodies. It’s safe to say he’s just getting started on his journey to making a mark on the music industry.

 

We sat down with Jeremy to chat about his time on The Voice, his current EP and what’s in the works for the young songwriter.

 

Good afternoon, it’s great to be chatting with you. Take a moment to tell us a bit about yourself and what got you into creating music.

 

My parents put me in piano lessons at a very young age and I really owe them everything when it comes to my musical journey thus far. I didn’t always practice what I was supposed to when it came to lessons, but I always loved to just go down to the piano and play what sounded good to me. That slowly turned into songwriting and I started picking up and teaching myself to play different instruments along the way.

 

Being in Chicago, how do you think that benefits you as a musician? Do you feel there are drawbacks being here?

 

I love this city. I feel like we have an amazing mix of all styles and genres when it comes to popular music and songwriting. It seems like everyone has this idea that you have to move to L.A. or New York to make an impact in the music industry, but I don’t feel that way. I want to stay in Chicago and I want to help put it back on the map when people think about cutting edge cities in the music industry.

 

 

You auditioned for Season 12 of The Voice – congrats! Talk a bit about that, how it came to be and what you learned from it.

 

I decided to go and audition randomly one Sunday morning and it ended up turning into an almost 2 year experience all together. I learned so many useful things about not only the music industry, but also television production. I got to work with the show’s band who were some of the most talented musicians I had every heard and also got to meet some life long friends during my month living in L.A. It gave me a new confidence in myself and my abilities and pushed me even more to follow my dream of working in the music industry.

 

Tell us about your EP “From me, For you.” How has the response been and was it the first project that you officially released?

 

“From Me, For You.” was my first original music released to the public. For years I had been writing songs but had nothing to show for it online. It was important to me that I produced and performed everything on the record and I was lucky to work with an amazing engineer, Andy Shoemaker, from Raxtrax. The response has been very positive and it seems like people have enjoyed it so far. I am working on a ton of new music right now, that has a totally different vibe, but I am really excited to share it with everyone soon.

 

 

Awesome, talk about some of your new projects. What else is next for you?

 

I have a ton of new music in the works, but it has a very different vibe than the first record. New production elements that are more familiar in today’s pop music world, but I am still sticking with my roots when it comes to singer-songwriter lyrics and real instruments carrying most of the weight in the songs. I also just accepted a position with an amazing record label in their A&R department. So now I am going to have the opportunity to find/help develop tomorrow’s top artists.

 

How would you explain your music in three words?

 

 

Which artists over your career so far have had the most influence on you as an artist and your sound overall?

 

Gavin DeGraw is the reason why I even got into writing and starting to play the piano more seriously. Billy Joel and Bruce Springsteen are constantly inspiring me with their storytelling. John Mayer makes me want to simultaneously pick up and put down the guitar everyday. Jon Bellion’s production continues to confuse and inspire me to experiment and try new things in the studio. And recently I was able to see James Bay, who is one of my favorite artists, and he completely blew me away live. It is so inspiring to see the people you admire get on stage live and blow your already high expectations out of the water.
 

Who are your top 3 favorite musicians right now?

 

Jon Bellion, James Bay and Daniel Caesar.

 

Anything else that you’d want to let the readers know?

 

Check out my first EP “From Me, For You.” on all streaming services and give it a share if you like what you hear. Follow me on all my social media accounts @JeremyCGentry. And keep an eye out for new music coming soon! Thanks!