Artist Glimpse: Jaclyn Kenyon

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For Jaclyn Kenyon, the road to "now" hasn’t been a straight line; it’s been a cross-border pilgrimage between the neon hum of Nashville and the grounding landscapes of Ontario. From being the youngest-ever performer at Toronto’s Honey Jam to opening for Nickelback and winning Banded on AXS TV, Jaclyn has navigated the industry’s highest highs and its most draining "no's." Now, back on Canadian soil and ready to speak her truth, she is dismantling the "perfect artist" facade. This is a glimpse into the heart of a songwriter who stopped trying to fit the mold and decided to show the world her Scars.

ROB AGUIAR: You’ve evolved from a child prodigy to a Nashville-hardened powerhouse. Looking back at your twelve-year-old debut at Honey Jam, what early narrative about your career have you officially decided to rewrite now that you're back on home turf?

JACLYN KENYON: I honestly don’t think I really knew what my career was going to be at 12 years old, but I can tell you I didn’t think it would of ever been this haha. I let so many people dictate the directon of my career and I just listened to them because they were “professionals” and I thought they knew better then myself. 

I just loved music so much and I wrote music all the time. It was in me from a young age and I just kept going and making it and doors would open up and it was exciting so I just kept going! I had to live a lot of life to be able to come back to myself now at 28. I had a lot to learn and a lot to have to work very hard for to be able to appreciate it and now that I am back on my home turf I am ready to tell my story and I know who I am more than anything now. 

RA: Your upcoming project, Scars, implies both trauma and healing. You’ve admitted to protecting the industry’s image for years; in writing this new music, was there a specific song that marked the moment you stopped writing for a target audience and started writing for your own survival?

JK: Yeah absolutely, for me, that was the single song “Scars”. It was written prematurely. By that I mean, I wrote it before I was ready to admit that I was broken. I wrote this song to “mask” myself,  thinking I was speaking to everyone else but really I was speaking to myself. When I sang the song I felt like the girl who could overcome anything and any obstacle even though I was falling apart inside. I had to become the girl I was trying to mask and really own my brokenness and story and learn to be okay with it. If I was telling others to be okay with it then I had to heal myself or it wasn’t authentic. 

RA: You recently shared a raw series on social media detailing your hate for the current music business. Beyond the personal grind, what specific industry standard—the social media pressure or the pick a lane mentality—do you find most damaging to emerging artists today?

JK: What I find most damaging is the way it sucks the creativity out of you. If you’re in music, you were born to be a creator. You want to create constantly; however, when you’re forced to focus on 'industry standards,' 'lanes' to follow, or writing that one 'viral TikTok song,' it drains the joy right out of the process. It forces you to focus on things that steal your happiness and clarity. Even if you don’t notice it right away, it will happen.

RA: You’ve been mentoring the next generation in Orillia, noting that your students re-lit your passion. Has witnessing their raw relationship with music helped strip away the business-first cynicism that can settle in after a decade in Nashville

JK: I see these kids come into the studio with so much joy on their faces when they hit a high note or finish a song. It reminds me how fun music is and how special it makes you feel. You forget that feeling sometimes.

I love teaching them and helping them find their passion. It’s so important to me that they learn to be confident, know who they are, and refuse to let people tell them what to do. I always take a 'student-first' approach: they tell me what they want for their songwriting or singing, and I’m there to guide them toward being their best selves, not to change them. It’s a gift to be yourself.

RA: If you could curate a no-rules collaboration that fully captures your rock-and-roll edge, who are the icons you’re bringing into the room to make some noise?

JK: Oh I love this question! I would say Paramore, Evanescence, Yungblud  and Carrie Underwood (she’s killer rock / country).

RA: With “Scars” on the horizon, what does this new chapter look like for your fans? Are we finally seeing the full-length project that captures the gritty, rock-fueled sound you’ve been chasing since you were a teenager?

JK: It looks like me. It’s finally me. I produced this record myself, with additional production by David Mohacsi. I wanted to freelance all my session players and be in the room while they were playing so they truly understood my vision and heart.

I was extremely hands-on, which is new for me; in the past, I’ve always let other people take the creative direction, but this project is fully myself. The songs, the writing, and the branding are everything I’ve wanted to do for a long time. It wasn’t the right time yet, but now, it is.

This year, she isn't interested in the polished, corporate version of herself. Through Scars and her honest take on the business, she proves that the most relatable music is made when you’ve actually lived through the fire. By leaning into the raw parts of her journey, Jaclyn has finally claimed the one thing the industry could never give her: her own voice.