Five Minutes With: Pop-Country Singer-Songwriter Jess Moskaluke

An internationally celebrated artist, Jess Moskaluke continues to break barriers in the country music world with her big voice, pop-infused hooks, and sonic versatility, as seen across her latest EP ‘Heartbreaker’. The first Canadian female country artist since Shania Twain to achieve Canadian Platinum single status with the hit ‘Cheap Wine and Cigarettes’, Moskaluke has since gone on to earn Canadian Gold certifications for ‘Take Me Home’, ‘Kiss Me Quiet’, ‘Knock Off’ and her first NUMBER ONE ‘Country Girls’. She was notably the first Canadian female country artist since 2008 to have a song in the Top 3 with ‘Drive Me Away’. The 2017 JUNO Award winner for ‘Country Album of the Year’, Moskaluke has taken home multiple CCMA Awards including ‘Album Of The Year ’ (2018) and ‘Female Artist of the Year’ (3X consecutive) and is a 2017 SOCAN Award winner and the 2020 WCM Award winner for ‘Country Artist of the Year’. Her 2021 album The Demos included an ode to her hometown with the hit single ‘Mapdot’ and fan favourite ‘Nothing I Don’t Love About You’, and in 2022 Moskaluke embarked on the Mapdot Tour, her first national headlining run which saw multiple sold out dates across Canada. Continuing to build her international reputation with notable plays at the C2C Music Festival in both Australia and the United Kingdom and with deep roots in the US, Moskaluke’s creativity knows no borders. In addition to her music, Moskaluke is passionate about giving back to causes that are close to her including the MS Society of Canada and Telemiracle Saskatchewan. She continues to explore other avenues including her highly sought-after ‘Handpicked by Jess’ subscription box, where she collaborates with local businesses to share products that she believes in – previous versions of the box have sold out in less than 24 hours.

Jess Moskaluke

Name:

Jess Moskaluke

Genre:

Pop-Country

Founded:

Great question. 1990? Haha

# of Albums:

8 in total – 2 Holiday albums, 6 regular albums.

Latest Album:

Heartbreaker

Latest Single:

Go Get Er

Latest Video:

Favourite musician growing up:

Shania Twain

Favourite musician now:

Hardy, Lainey Wilson, Kelsea Ballerini

Guilty pleasure song:

Truck Bed- HARDY

Live show ritual:

We affectionately call our quality time as a band pre-show “lockdown”. The green room is strictly off-limits to anyone who’s not directly in the band. No family, no label, no pets- JUST band. Show days can be a little hectic and there are some days that if we didn’t have lockdown, I wouldn’t even see my own band until the second I step foot on stage. So we’ve made this a priority in our band- we’re all super close, so I think that chemistry can be seen on stage, so it needs to be nurtured OFF stage, too. During lockdown, we may have a pre-show drink, chat through any changes we wanted to make to the set list, or just hang out – but it’s super crucial for us.

Favourite local musician:

Tate MacRae

EP or LP?

Whatever feels right for that season! I’ve definitely done both and they each have pros and cons.

Early bird or night owl?

Somehow I’m both haha

Road or studio?

Mmmm… I DO love both, but my first love is the road.

Any shows or albums coming up?

Right now we’re celebrating 10 years of a song called “Cheap Wine and Cigarettes”. My new friend Jack Trades did a super cool dance/club remix of the song that I’m very excited about!

Where can we follow you?

Instagram | Facebook | TikTok

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Rapid Fire Local Questions:

What is your favourite local restaurant?

Native Tongues or Nupo

What is your favourite music venue in your city?

Stampede- the whole thing. Love that the whole city turns into a music venue!

 

About Demian Vernieri 655 Articles
Demian is an Argentinian retired musician, avid gamer and editor for the Montréal Guardian, Toronto Guardian, Calgary Guardian and Vancouver Guardian websites.