By Alexandra Brothers
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
September 1, 2023 Edition
Mount Pearl singer/songwriter Jenny Mallard never stops pushing back against the things that challenge her when it comes to pursuing her passion for music.
Mallard, 26, has been playing country and pop music since she was a young girl. Growing up in a musically inclined family meant that music has always been a big part of her life. Mallard learned to play guitar by playing along with her aunts and uncles and her parents. Family gatherings were always musical events.
“At a Mallard party it’s always been just a big jam session,” she said.
Apart from the inspiration she draws from her family, Mallard cites several influential artists as her creative motivators, from local groups like The Ennis Sisters and The Fortunate Ones to international icons like Taylor Swift, Shania Twain, and Carrie Underwood. The fact that the artists she emulates are mainly female is no coincidence. According to Mallard, the music industry in Newfoundland is male dominated, making it especially challenging for emerging female musicians to secure their place.
Nevertheless, Mallard doesn’t let that stop her from chasing her dreams. She has been working as a performing artist since she was a teen and has recently crossed into recording artist territory. In November, Mallard released her first album, Into the Deep, with a local production company. Mallard said that each song on the album has “a lot of flavour” and that they are each inspired by different artists. She called Into the Deep a concept album—one that tells a story of overcoming hardships and finding oneself. She is proud to be able to say that she wrote the entire album by herself. “Every song, every word, was written by me,” she said.
Her next album will be a little different. Mallard plans to collaborate with other local emerging artists to finish some songs that she has been working on.
“I’ve made some really great friends over the past year in the music industry,” said Mallard.
She hopes they will help her get the ball rolling when it comes to coming up with powerful verses to go along with some of the catchy choruses she has already written. She said she’s a little nervous about co-writing since it is something she has never done before and songwriting, for her, is “a really intimate process.” Fortunately, the artists whom Mallard has connected with over the past year have been great influences on her.
“They’re really great musicians and they’re also just really positive people, so they’ve all just inspired me to continue,” she said. “A lot of them are emerging artists too, so we’re kind of in the same boat, just inspiring each other with our sounds, leaning on people for ideas on how to collaborate. Getting knowledge off each other because we’re all going through the same process at the same time has been really inspirational and also really helpful.”
Although Mallard said she enjoyed recording Into the Deep, performing her songs live is her true passion. “The reason I’m in it is performing,” she said. “I love being (on stage). I love connecting with an audience. I love enhancing people’s experience at events or at a bar.”
Live performances are her favourite part of being an artist, she said, because they allow her to “just be in the moment and be present” with the audience.
She first started performing, on a volunteer basis, around the age of 14. When she became of age to play in bars, she started to look for as many paying gigs as she could find. This was difficult at first, she said, since it is often hard to get booked as a new, inexperienced artist.
“I didn’t have a resume behind me,” she said, which meant much depended on the willingness of bar owners and event organizers to take a chance on her. As time went on, it became easier. “The more gigs you do, the more you get,” she said.
Mallard now has many performances under her belt. In addition to playing at venues including The Rec Room, Quidi Vidi Brewery, and numerous bars, pubs, and clubs around the community, she has also taken the stage at the Newfoundland Embassy and taken part in Mount Pearl’s Concert in the Park series as well as songwriter circles at The Ship.
Mallard has also toured the province with Rod Jackson and the Perfect Strangers as a supporting vocalist. She had the honour of opening for the Newfoundland Symphony Orchestra’s “Women of Country” show.
“I really felt like that was where I was supposed to be,” said Mallard. “It made me feel like maybe even one day I could play with the orchestra backing me up.” she said.
Every performance Mallard gives is unique. She has played for as few as four audience members as well as shows for over two thousand people like at welcome ceremonies at MUN where she is currently working on her Masters in business. Her shows can be up to four hours long, but she always tries to keep things exciting for her audiences. Although when it comes to her original music she primarily sticks to country-pop, when she performs covers, she plays a little bit of everything. “I like to switch it up, tailor to the audience and kind of throw in whatever I think the audience would feel. It depends on what they’re reacting to the best,” she said.
With all the excitement of performing and recording, however, comes a fair share of challenges for emerging artists like Mallard. Being a musician can be “a struggle from a money-making perspective,” she said. Currently, she is working a 9-5 job on top of playing four or five gigs a month. There is also the inevitable issue of dealing with criticism. Musicians have to receive a lot of criticism, said Mallard, and “getting that feedback can be challenging.” Although it can be disheartening for an artist to hear that someone doesn’t like their work, Mallard said dealing with negative feedback is something that all artists must do, though she admitted it’s something she still finds difficult.
“The thing is, with a creative profession, you’re never going to please everyone. So, I’ve kind of come to terms with that a little bit, but it’s still a hard pill to swallow,” she said.
However, Mallard has a strategy for coping with such challenges. “I have a core purpose and values that I hold close to me, and they’re put into everything I do,” she said. “It makes the bad days more tolerable because you recognize that you have a purpose and that allows you to keep your eye on the prize, so you’ll always be guided in the right direction.”
Mallard said her purpose is to spread a message through her music and to better people’s lives through music. She encouraged other aspiring artists to do the same when they are faced with hardships.
“Using your purpose and your values as a tool to evaluate where you should spend your energy and your time helps with the strategic direction of your music,” she said.
This can make tough decisions much easier to make and can help re-inspire musicians when they are on the brink of giving up. Mallard has no plans to give up on her musical career any time soon. This month, she will be playing Quidi Vidi Brewery on September 9 and at the Rec Room on the 15th.
