Aspen Jacobsen

"Damned Dynasty" is about the concept of God and how it can be twisted or corrupted. "While we wage wars based on your presence, well can't you see the irony?"  The song was inspired by Aspen’s personal struggles with organized religion and faith. 

Listen Here: https://youtu.be/2noyXqtLs20

Award-winning, teen singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, Aspen Jacobsen has a natural gift for connecting with her audience through her introspective lyrics and emotive voice.  Aspen's original work is a modern twist on Americana and Folk music. Aspen recently recorded four new original songs in Nashville, the first of which to be released is “Damned Dynasty.” Aspen previously released the album ‘Love Each Other Right’ in November 2019 and her self-titled debut album in October 2018. 

“Damned Dynasty” is part of a second recording project with Dominic Davis who not only produced her new songs but also played bass. He is a highly sought out producer and has worked with everyone from Greensky Bluegrass to Willie Nelson. He is best known as the longtime bassist for Jack White. Aspen and Dominic have been working together since meeting several years ago at the Wheatland Music Festival. 

This new single was recorded at OmniSound Studios in Nashville with Chief Engineer Rory Rositas. OmniSound Studios has been one of Nashville’s top recording studios for over 35 years. Rory Rositas has worked with multiple gold and platinum musicians. Studio musicians for “Damned Dynasty” include Fred Eltringham (drums), Anthony da Costa (guitar), Dominic Davis (bass), Rachael Davis (background vocals) and Maya de Vitry (background vocals).

I'm very proud to have been selected as a Fishman Artist. I have been using Fishman's Loudbox Mini since 2014 when I started playing coffee houses and busking on street corners . If you play acoustic instruments like me, this is the perfect amp! The Fishman Loudbox Mini is small but mighty, like me! 

Check out this video on YouTube that Fishman put together about me and the Fishman Loudbox Mini.

I was thrilled to share my experience as part of the DIY Musician Accelerator Program sponsored by CD Baby and Simon Tam of the Slants Foundation, Thursday September 24th 2020. I had an incredible opportunity to receive six months of business music mentorship and a generous CD distribution package while participating in this program. Since the CD Baby conference where we were to speak on a panel in Austin was cancelled due to COVID, we instead did this live stream to share what we learned and how we grew from the experience. 

April 14, 2020 — Teen singer-songwriter Aspen Jacobsen’s song "Georgia Boy" is one of five finalists in the Independent Music Awards' Alternative Country Best Song Category.  A 15-year-old from Commerce Township, Michigan, Aspen is a singer and multi-instrumentalist whose music is rooted in Americana, Country, and Folk-Pop. “Georgia Boy” is about a personal experience; “It seemed like a cliché encounter between a teen boy and girl which initially made me resistant to writing this song,” explains Aspen. Although it may sound stereotypical, everything in this song is a true account of teenage courtship. In the song Aspen sings: "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you. I'm sorry, I did the best a stupid girl like me could do."

The winning projects will be selected by influential judging panels including: Tom Waits & Kathleen Brennan, Robert Smith, Ziggy Marley, KT Tunstall, Dee Snider, Drowning Pool, Roberta Flack, Jaci Velasquez, Coolio, Joshua Bell, Beth Gibbons, Joe Satriani and nearly 100 more creatives, top recording artists and industry influencers determining this year’s winners.

Featuring gorgeous verse and lush instrumentation, “Georgia Boy” is from Aspen’s latest album ‘Love Each Other Right.’ Detroit native and Nashville based, Dominic Davis produced the album. Davis is the long-time bassist for Jack White and has worked with many music greats, from Beyoncé to Willie Nelson to Adele. The album was recorded last August at Willis Sound. [Aspen] is "a very mature performer and writer, which is rare at any age", explains Jim Roll, Head Engineer at Willis Sound. Musicians on the album include Aspen Jacobsen (vocals, guitar) Michael Shimmin (percussion), Brad Phillips (guitar/mandolin/violin), Dominic Davis (Bass), Bruce Ling (mandolin), Rachael Davis (backing vocals) and Mike Lynch (keyboard). 

Big news! So excited to announce my song “Delicate Butterfly” 🦋 made it to the semi-final’s in the 2020 International Songwriting Competition Teen category! This song-writing competition received more than 18,000 entries and only 11% make it to the semi-finals Show my song some love by following me on Spotify and streaming it!! 

I wanted to share a project I'm so proud to part of, especially since so many kids could benefit from it right now during Quarantine. I'm in a couple episodes of a kids science TV show that airs nationwide and season 6 is airing now. It's called Curious Crew, produced by WKAR - Public Media from Michigan State University. If you miss it on TV, you can stream episodes off the website! I've been blessed to be part of this amazing, Emmy-award winning science show for the last three seasons. We record over summer (I'm in the girl in the middle in the photo below) and sadly this will be my last season as I'll will have aged-out. I'm in episodes Episode 607 - Convection and Episode 608 - Piano. Dr. Rob does an incredible job explaining science to kids. Click on the photo below to view an episode. As we say on Curious Crew, "Stay Curious!"

Thrilled to have been hand-picked as one of three independent artists for the CD Baby Music DIY Musicians Accelerator Program in conjunction with Simon Tam of the Slants Foundation! his is a six-month mentorship program for artists who would like to scale up their music business. Artists receive bi-weekly coaching sessions with Simon Tam, author/host of Music Business Hacks and founder of The Slants Foundation. In addition, CD Baby provides a release package of 1,000 Digipacks + digital distribution to each selected artist for free, a $2500 value. At the end of the accelerator program, artists have their results shared on stage at the 2020 DIY Musician Conference in Austin Texas in August.  You can listen to the bi-weekly podcast by clicking the image below. This is an incredible opportunity and be sure to see updates on my Facebook Page! 

Thank you Oakland Press for the article about my upcoming CD Release Party! You can read the full article here --> https://www.theoaklandpress.com/lifestyles/suburban/commerce-township-teen-releases-album-produced-by-jack-white-s/article_4b807394-fce9-11e9-9f3f-4bad2ff7095f.html

So grateful to be in MusicTown Detroit studios and interviewed by Pam Rossi on Behind the Mic!!! Pam Rossi is so easy to talk to and everyone in the studio were incredibly nice! Thank you Pam Rossi, MusicTown Detroit and WOMC 94.3 for allowing me to share my music.

You can see my full interview here --> Behind the Mic Interview  and read the article here --> MusicTown Detroit Artical

Coolest thing happened! While I was on vacation, I happened to play open mic at Founders Brewery Company in Grand Rapids, MI and got invited to be interviewed by WYCE 88.1 FM host Laura Nowe in studio the next morning! Thank you so much for the opportunity Laura Nowe and station manager Hayes Griffin for having me on your Open Mic show. You can listen to the live broadcast here --> https://soundcloud.com/wyceradio/ep-2-88-aspen-jacobsen-8-7-2019 or watch the in studio recording from my Facebook page.