4 minute read
Singing Her Heart Out
Heart S NGING HER
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by Steve Gamel | photos courtesy of Jessica McVey
Jessica McVey was 26 when she went to an Illinois bar with a few friends and entered into a karaoke contest. One by one, contestants were eliminated by a lively but tough crowd with high standards. That is, except for McVey.
McVey made it to the finals that night, and as a treat, she got to sing with a live band.
“I performed Heartbreaker by Pat Benatar, and I ended up winning the competition,” said McVey. An Illinois native, she moved to Flower Mound in 2014. “I knew the owner, and they came up to me and said, ‘Hey, so … we had no idea that you could sing like that. Do you think you can get a band together so that we can book you?’”
The rest, as they say, is history.
For the last 12 years, McVey has been selling out shows in venues ranging from Piranha Killer Sushi in Flower Mound to House of Blues in Dallas and Lava Cantina in The Colony. She labels herself as a country music singer and songwriter; she does killer renditions of Miranda Lambert and Carrie Underwood that you absolutely must hear. But to be honest, McVey loves all music genres and can pretty much belt out anything. She’s continually booking sold-out shows locally, giving us a true music sensation right in our own backyard.
“It’s been so much fun,” McVey said. “I’ve always been a very social person, so music is a great way for me to connect with people. We’ve played in small venues and big ones, but it doesn’t matter how many people I am playing in front of. It’s the energy you get from those people. Music takes them away from regular life — even if just for a moment.”
Having an escape — especially in the form of music — is very important in this day and age as we continue to fight as a nation against the COVID-19 pandemic. Thankfully, singers and musicians like McVey have continued booking shows at local venues near and far. In fact, McVey said she performs roughly 200 shows per year, including a few house parties and private events, and is quickly developing a following for tunes such as Haunting Melody and John Deere in the Headlights. McVey said music truly is an escape for people, and she takes a lot of pride in what she does.
“I’ve been blessed with every event I’ve been able to have this year,” she said. “This is when we need music the most, and being able to sing in front of so many people means the world to me. I have a hard time relaxing when I get home after
a show because I’m still so excited about what happened in the performance that night.”
Wowing crowds with her passion for music is nothing new for McVey. She grew up in a family of musicians; her parents were in a Christian rock bank in the 1980s and regularly toured the country. Jessica started out singing at her church and credits her parents for teaching her everything she knows.
An avid volleyball player, Jessica would play Name That Tune with her dad in those long car rides to tournaments. “He’d always win. Every time,” she said with a laugh. “I learned early on to appreciate all types of music.”
After her first-place finish in that aforementioned karaoke contest, Jessica teamed up with her younger brother BJ and created a country band. They sang all over Illinois and quickly became one of the top bands in the area. A few years later, Jessica’s fiancé, Adrian Wallace, got a job offer in Dallas. Despite having to start over, it didn’t take her long to find a few new bands to sing with. She’s currently teamed with guitarist Fletcher Moudy and band members Gary Ishee, Dave Farrell, Billy Davis, and Magen Miller, and they’ve been rocking venues together ever since.
“We’ve done a lot of fun stuff together in and around this area,” she said. “It’s getting to the point where I’m busy all of the time, and I love every minute of it. I think I will always be doing something with music.”
You can learn more about Jessica at @jessicamcveymusic on Facebook.
