Jessica Gerhardt

I've been singing since as far back as I can remember. Writing songs since I was a little girl with my first singles "Walking in the Rain" at 8 and "Cold Spaghetti" at age 9. Since then my musical interests and lyrical subjects have grown and matured as I have. Why ukulele? I was given a ukulele as a birthday gift for a Hawaiian Luau themed birthday party at the age of 10. It sat in my closet until I was offered a ukulele lesson as a gift at the age of 14. One lesson sealed the deal and I fell in love with the four-string, wood-bodied wonder of an instrument. I've been playing ever since. First began to play out at Downbeat 720, a high school open mic night based at the Miles Playhouse in Santa Monica. Downbeat offered me a safe space to grow in confidence with my musical performance and to grow in my musical composition as well. While pursuing my Bachelor's degree in Psychology at Reed College, I was involved with my music in a band called Just Orange. I also took courses in music theory, jazz history, and poetry writing, which have since had a profound effect on my lyric writing and music composition process. Additionally, I was involved with the Christian group on campus known as 'Oh For Christ's Sake'. One night OFCS held an all-night prayer vigil in the chapel on campus, and I had a shift at 2am. I had the whole chapel to myself and so I began to sing, not Christian songs in particular, but just singing because I could. I sang loud, tried to hit notes I'd never risked before (because no one was there to judge me), just really belting it, and all of a sudden, God interrupted. God told me He wanted me to do that, to pursue music. God pointed out doors that were opening, and all the ways I'd been continually encouraged with music, and I decided to trust Him and accept that invitation. As God became more involved in my musical pursuits, He often became the subject of my writing too, or at least the inspiration. I also developed a deeper joy for singing praise and worship in a more free-form, unabashed, sort of charismatic way with a group of incredible people. We would sing loudly and freely for God in the Reed Canyon underneath the Blue Bridge, allowing the music and the Spirit to carry us away. As I grew both musically and in my faith, I felt called to return to Los Angeles where I'm now continuing to pursue music, trusting in God wherever this path leads me. I do hope to share my music as a way of telling stories and forging connections with others, perhaps reaching people in ways they need to be reached. acoustic ukulele music. honest and vulnerable lyrics. basically, pieces of my soul in musical form. babies born of my musical womb.