Jillian Jacqueline (ASCAP)

Abe Olman Scholarship, 2015

It started with a box set of Patsy Cline’s greatest hits. Born and raised in Chester Springs, Pennsylvania, Jillian began singing at local coffee shops at the age of 7. Singing along to the likes of Patsy, Elvis, The Dixie Chicks, James Taylor and Carole King, she fell in love with songs and the power of songwriting. She wrote and recorded her first album in her guitar player’s basement at age the age of 8. At the age of 9, Jillian took a trip to New York City to audition for a Christmas show starring Kenny Rogers. She got the part, and co-starred alongside Rogers in the Broadway production Christmas from the Heart. In 2001, Dreamcatcher Entertainment released a duet with Billy Dean, Suzy Bogguss and Jillian titled “Please Keep Mom and Dad in Love” which debuted on the Top 50 Billboard Country Music Charts. Jillian formed a band with her three sisters during this time called The Little Women Band and began touring and playing all over the U.S, including a residency at The Bitter End in New York and state fairs all over the country. Jillian moved to Nashville, TN in 2010 and spent the past few years writing and recording new material. In 2013 she wrote and recorded a 6 song project with pop singer/songwriter and record producer Richard Marx. After signing with Downtown Music Publishing in Nashville in August 2014 she released her first single as a solo artist, and was recently named one of Spotify’s “Spotlight on Country” Artists to Watch in 2015.