Jesse Johnston was born in West Plains, Missouri, the same town as Jan Howard and Porter Waggoner. But, that’s not where his influences started. Jesse’s father, who was significantly older, turned him on to country music. “I remember, it being a regular occasion, to be at one of Dad’s friends’ houses playing cards or out in Danny’s garage playing pool and we always had old country playing.”

Jesse’s influences came early. “When my sisters started listening to Savage Garden or Aerosmith I was listening to Tracy Byrd or Mark Chesnutt. It seemed the only artist we really agreed on was Shania Twain.”

“I was always obsessed with music,” says Jesse. “When my friends wanted to talk about Pokémon, I wanted to talk about Merle Haggard. When my friends wanted to play football, I wanted to play guitar.”

“As far back as I can remember I always wanted to write stories but my ADHD wouldn’t allow for a book so I figured a three minute song was just about right.” One of Jesse’s earliest influences was Johnny Cash. “I remember when Johnny died in 2003 and they had a documentary on CMT where Johnny said he put music into songs and I thought, ‘I can do that!’”

Jesse refers to himself as a modern traditional country music artist. “I was born in an interesting time. 2005 was the launch of YouTube and while many older stars grew up listening to AM radio or FM radio I was that weird generation who grew up watching the Opry on their YouTube channel.”

On December 19, 2009 Jesse bought his first guitar. “I learned to play [it] by Googling the songwriters and finding acoustic performances. I guess that was my way of learning and discovering heroes I would meet when I moved to Nashville.”

On November 2, 2017 Jesse would take the stage for the first time in Mountain Home, Arkansas and discover his love for performing. “This was an important moment for me. One of my co-workers, David Dunn, hosted an Open Mic and the local bar called the Royal 66. I can’t tell you all the fun we had at out Fun with Dunn nights… mainly because of all the Jagerbombs.”

In June 2018, Jesse would move to Panama City Beach, Florida where he would play in local open mics as well as several open mics for original songs. “This is where I really learned that people could enjoy my original stuff and there’s something really rewarding about playing songs you’ve written from the heart and seeing people locked eyes and taking it in. I love that! I can’t imagine a better feeling in the world.”

In 2020 when the world shut down, Jesse met several Nashville musicians and finally got the nerve to do what he always wanted to. On November 6, 2021 Jesse packed up and moved to Nashville, Tennessee.

Jesse now lives in Nashville, Tennessee and plays local singer/songwriter events, networking, writing and growing with the dream of being a professional songwriter, and who knows, maybe an artist! He’s available for booking!