Jaclyn Kenyon

Thursday, March, 08, 2012 - 10:10:15 AM



Catherine O'Hara, REVIEW STAFF


Catherine O'Hara, REVIEW STAFF

ROCK IT: Singer/songwriter Jaclyn Kenyon and her guitarist, Steve Costello, perform for Kenyon’s peers at Waterdown District High School last Friday. The performance, which raised funds for the new youth centre in Waterdown, was attended by hundreds of students who paid $3 to see the talented local artist take to the stage.

Kenyon at centre stage


Singer/songwriter Jaclyn Kenyon and her guitarist, Steve Costello, performed for Kenyon’s peers at Waterdown District High School last Friday. The performance, which raised funds for the new youth centre in Waterdown, was attended by hundreds of students who paid $3 to see the talented local artist take to the stage.
- Flamborought Review

Friday, January, 13, 2012 - 11:11:54 AM



Submitted photo


Submitted photo

STAR POWER: Waterdown singer/songwriter Jaclyn Kenyon (left) poses with Plumbline Music Group exec “Mama” Jan Smith and guitarist Steve Costello.

No limits for Jaclyn Kenyon


By Ben Rayner, Toronto Star

Is the world ready for yet another youthful pop phenom from small-town Ontario?

Jaclyn Kenyon might be all of 14 years old, but the Waterdown native has been turning down offers to sign with various record labels and management and publishing houses for a couple of years already.

Now, the Grade 9 Waterdown District High School student has inked a prestigious development deal with Atlanta’s Plumbline Music Group and “Mama” Jan Smith, a beloved behind-the-scenes figure who’s helped mentor big-name acts such as Drake, Usher, Jill Scott, Trey Songz and that Stratford kid, Justin Bieber.

“I guess a lot of stuff that’ll be pretty life-changing is going to happen in the next few months,” said Kenyon, who admits to being “overwhelmed” at how well her nascent career is suddenly going, but has also proven herself capable of holding her own against performers twice her age at events such as Honey Jam and Hamilton’s Jamilton Talent Search since she was about 12.

“It’s really exciting,” added the singer-songwriter, who has a younger brother, 11-year-old Jordan. “It’s really cool how everything has worked out. Since I was little, it’s always been music, music, music. And there are a lot of times when it’s hard, but I also couldn’t see myself living without it.”

Kenyon, who according to her manager father, Will, has been “sitting on top of a piano since she was three,” appears well-placed for longevity in the music business. The Calvin Christian School alum and her family have been cautious about working with anyone who’s not interested in letting Jaclyn Kenyon be herself. And although she’s being groomed as a singer and cites performing onstage as her greatest love, she’s as much in demand for her songwriting chops as for her powerful voice.

Indeed, while Mama Jan says her young charge “needs to home in on the style that she wants to carry forth for the next five or 10 years” as a singer, she believes Kenyon is already wise beyond her years as a writer.

“Jaclyn, as a writer, I believe she can write for anybody,” said Smith from Atlanta. “Stylistically, she really doesn’t have a lot of limits, which is awesome.”

For the time being, Kenyon is amassing songs with her right-hand man, Steve Costello, a 19-year-old guitarist from Sudbury, and making semi-regular trips to Atlanta to whip her material – girlish pop-rock that she describes as “an Evanescence-meets-Taylor Swift kind of thing” – into shape under Plumbline’s watchful eye. Mama Jan “absolutely expects” to have material ready to release by the end of 2012.

“I really see myself in a place where I want to be for the rest of my life,” said Kenyon. “I really see this as what I want to be doing for the rest of my life.”
- Flamborough Review

By Kevin JonesFor 15 years, Toronto's annual Honey Jam showcase has served as one of the city's premiere expos for female urban artists looking to find their place in a cut-throat and often unresponsive Canadian music industry. But in an era where the Internet tells us instantaneously all we ever need to know about anything and anyone, can we still expect a talent show of relative unknowns to draw people from their air-conditioned homes on a hot summer night in the city? The crowd at Toronto's Mod Club certainly proved that it could, and the diverse line-up of choice newcomers and well-seasoned vets gave the bustling room its money's worth.

With MuchMusic VJ Sarah Taylor holding down the "Mistress of Ceremonies" title for the night, things got off to an impressive start with talented teen songstress Faith Antoine showing presence and poise beyond her age, covering Mariah Carey's "I Still Believe." From that point on, the event quickly showed it had grown far beyond the urban artist promotional tool its founding PhemPhat fore-sisters had envisioned, with styles as disparate as Jessica Cho's moody synth house grooves, Janelle Monique's Latin flavour and the acoustic balladry of former God Made Me Funky vocalist Lynzie Kent.

Show highlights came by way of 12-year-old, soon-to-be pop sensation Jaclyn Kenyon, who floored the audience with a bluesy "This Little Light of Mine" intro before ripping into her power-pop-infused main performance. She was soon followed by the fantastically slinky, soul-drenched jazz inflections of newcomer Elise LeGrow, whose solid performance unfortunately also marked the point where the night's four-hour length began to set in.

Despite Honey Jam being expertly and efficiently organized, there was no way to make 20-plus acts feel like five, and it began to show in the diminishing crowd as the night wore on. Those who stuck around to see powerhouse vocalist Saidah's eight-piece rock outfit were treated to one of the evening's best performances, before current move-maker Trish snapped us all back into Top-20 R&B reality with the heavy thump and minimalist drones backing her choreographed paces. In the end, it was night offering all things to all people, and an annual celebration that continues to do this city proud.
- Exclaim.ca front page

By: Ben Rayner Pop Music Critic, Published on Sun Jan 01 2012



Explore This Story


1 Photo

Save to Mystar










Republish








Is the world ready for yet another youthful pop phenom from small-town Ontario?


Jaclyn Kenyon might be all of 14 years old, but the Waterdown native has been turning down offers to sign with various record labels and management and publishing houses for a couple of years already.


Now she’s about to ring in 2012 by inking a prestigious development deal with Atlanta’s Plumbline Music Group and “Mama” Jan Smith, a beloved behind-the-scenes figure who’s helped mentor such big names as Drake, Usher, Jill Scott, Trey Songz and a certain plucky kid from Stratford named Justin Bieber.


“I guess a lot of stuff that’ll be pretty life-changing is going to happen in the next few months,” says Kenyon, who admits to being “overwhelmed” at how well her nascent career is suddenly going, but has also proven herself quite capable of holding her own against performers twice her age at events such as Honey Jam and Hamilton’s Jamilton Talent Search since she was about 12.


“It’s really exciting,” adds the singer-songwriter, who has a younger brother, 11-year-old Jordan. “It’s really cool how everything has worked out. Since I was little, it’s always been music, music, music. And there are a lot of times when it’s hard, but I also couldn’t see myself living without it.”


Kenyon — who, according to her manager father, Will, has been “sitting on top of a piano since she was 3” — appears well placed for longevity in the music business. She and her family have been cautious about working with anyone who’s not interested in letting Jaclyn Kenyon be herself. And although she’s being groomed as a singer and cites performing onstage as her greatest love, she’s as much in demand for her songwriting chops as for her powerful voice.


Indeed, while Mama Jan says her young charge “needs to home in on the style that she wants to carry forth for the next five or 10 years” as a singer, she believes Kenyon is already wise beyond her years as a writer.


“Jaclyn, as a writer, I believe she can write for anybody,” says Smith from Atlanta. “Stylistically, she really doesn’t have a lot of limits, which is awesome.”


For the time being, Kenyon is amassing songs with her right-hand man, Steve Costello, a 19-year-old guitarist from Sudbury, and making semi-regular trips to Atlanta to whip her material — girlish pop-rock that she describes as “an Evanescence meets Taylor Swift kind of thing” — into shape under Plumbline’s watchful eye. Mama Jan “absolutely expects” to have material ready to release by the end of 2012.


“I really see myself in a place where I want to be for the rest of my life,” says Kenyon. “I really see this as what I want to be doing for the rest of my life.”
- TorStar

By: Ben Rayner Pop Music Critic, Published on Sun Jan 01 2012



Explore This Story


1 Photo

Save to Mystar










Republish








Is the world ready for yet another youthful pop phenom from small-town Ontario?


Jaclyn Kenyon might be all of 14 years old, but the Waterdown native has been turning down offers to sign with various record labels and management and publishing houses for a couple of years already.


Now she’s about to ring in 2012 by inking a prestigious development deal with Atlanta’s Plumbline Music Group and “Mama” Jan Smith, a beloved behind-the-scenes figure who’s helped mentor such big names as Drake, Usher, Jill Scott, Trey Songz and a certain plucky kid from Stratford named Justin Bieber.


“I guess a lot of stuff that’ll be pretty life-changing is going to happen in the next few months,” says Kenyon, who admits to being “overwhelmed” at how well her nascent career is suddenly going, but has also proven herself quite capable of holding her own against performers twice her age at events such as Honey Jam and Hamilton’s Jamilton Talent Search since she was about 12.


“It’s really exciting,” adds the singer-songwriter, who has a younger brother, 11-year-old Jordan. “It’s really cool how everything has worked out. Since I was little, it’s always been music, music, music. And there are a lot of times when it’s hard, but I also couldn’t see myself living without it.”


Kenyon — who, according to her manager father, Will, has been “sitting on top of a piano since she was 3” — appears well placed for longevity in the music business. She and her family have been cautious about working with anyone who’s not interested in letting Jaclyn Kenyon be herself. And although she’s being groomed as a singer and cites performing onstage as her greatest love, she’s as much in demand for her songwriting chops as for her powerful voice.


Indeed, while Mama Jan says her young charge “needs to home in on the style that she wants to carry forth for the next five or 10 years” as a singer, she believes Kenyon is already wise beyond her years as a writer.


“Jaclyn, as a writer, I believe she can write for anybody,” says Smith from Atlanta. “Stylistically, she really doesn’t have a lot of limits, which is awesome.”


For the time being, Kenyon is amassing songs with her right-hand man, Steve Costello, a 19-year-old guitarist from Sudbury, and making semi-regular trips to Atlanta to whip her material — girlish pop-rock that she describes as “an Evanescence meets Taylor Swift kind of thing” — into shape under Plumbline’s watchful eye. Mama Jan “absolutely expects” to have material ready to release by the end of 2012.


“I really see myself in a place where I want to be for the rest of my life,” says Kenyon. “I really see this as what I want to be doing for the rest of my life.”
- Hamilton Spectator