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Not slowing down: Singer-songwriter Jess Williamson brings new music, show to Tumbleroot Brewery & Distillery
The days before a tour are spent doing a lot of planning for Jess Williamson.
The Los Angeles-based singer-songwriter is headed on tour in support of her latest album, 鈥淭ime Ain鈥檛 Accidental.鈥
鈥淚鈥檓 practicing a lot,鈥 Williamson says. 鈥淚鈥檓 going to hunker down and stay at home and play a lot of music. We鈥檙e adding four more songs off my new record to the set. It鈥檚 that funny thing where I have to relearn my own songs. It will be a lot of running errands and practicing before I head out on tour.鈥
Williams is slated to make a stop in Santa Fe at Tumbleroot Brewery & Distillery at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Aug. 18. It will be her fourth time performing in New Mexico.
鈥淚 really enjoy performing in New Mexico,鈥 she says. 鈥淭here鈥檚 something special about the area, especially Santa Fe.鈥
鈥淭ime Ain鈥檛 Accidental鈥 was released on June 9, and features 11 tracks.
Since the record was released, she wanted to play all the songs on this tour.
鈥淥n my last tour, we played all but four of the new songs,鈥 she says. 鈥淭hese songs are a little more challenging for me to sing because they are more sad. I felt like I wanted to save the sad songs for when the album was out, and I could perform the album in full.鈥
Williamson says it鈥檚 interesting to see how slower, sadder songs seem to change the set.
Being aware of that, she plans to pepper in the songs throughout the set.
鈥淚t鈥檚 about creating moments,鈥 she says. 鈥淚 recently saw Taylor Swift in concert, and she has mastered that. She goes into this soft space and then comes back stronger than ever. It can be done, and I鈥檒l be able to pull it off.鈥
Williamson began writing songs for the album in 2019. The album was completed in August 2022.
For nearly a year, she waited for the album to be released, which was a lesson in patience.
鈥淭he dates usually come from the record label and it鈥檚 smart,鈥 she says. 鈥淰inyl takes a long time to produce and I had just released an album in October 2022. We did that tour and waiting to release the album gave me the opportunity to make music videos and give the two albums their own place. I鈥檝e been able to see the direction I want to go with this album and tour.鈥
As the singer-songwriter continues to evolve in life and music, she noticed the changes along the way.
鈥淲hat鈥檚 happened is I enjoy performing more,鈥 she says. 鈥淚 understand it more. When I was first starting to play shows, it was just a learning process and getting comfortable with myself on stage. I鈥檓 more comfortable now and I connect with an audience. That makes the whole process more fun for me. There鈥檚 always a huge learning curve because the industry changes so much. I鈥檓 grateful because I鈥檓 able to tour again. When I released the album in 2020, I didn鈥檛 get the chance to share it with the world in a live setting. Every moment is so special to me when I鈥檓 able to share my music.鈥