Jessica Kilroy grew up in Big Sky country, Montana, working hard at everything she's ever set her mind to. She has fought forest fires across
the nation, aided abandoned/orphaned children in Mexico, climbed the big walls of Zion and Yosemite, trekked across South East Asia to scale beautiful limestone cliffs, and learned the legends and stories of her ancestors while playing Celtic folk with local fishermen on the Irish shoreline.Raised in a very modest home, she learned at an early age that there is no short cut to the top of any mountain. She has fought hard to overcome many, and strives to help others overcome mountains of their own through her compassion and music.
Through all of her experiences, Kilroy has always had her guitar by her side, capturing each moment with heartfelt lyrics and a soulful, genuine sound from a voice that Bluesman Guy Davis once described as "beautiful and pure, it takes me somewhere deep, and way back".
Kilroy first picked up a guitar when she was only 13 years old and never put it down. In 1999, Kilroy appeared as a musical guest on "The Heidi Show". In 2000, four of Jessica's original songs were featured on "Finding Out", an independent film by Kevin Woods about the issues of alcoholism. In 2004, Kilroy released her first solo album "Before Dawn", comprised of all original material and recorded in Trego Montana by Michael Atherton.
She has performed solo across the nation as well as with many reputable performers. In 2005 she was invited to play at the Bluebird Cafe in Nashville, Tennessee after Skip Ewing, award-winning Nashville songwriter, was impressed with her solid performance, angelic voice and original music at the legendary Jackson Hole Hootenani. Ewing said "Jessica's voice is honest and pure, it's nothing like I've ever heard before. She's a 21st century Emmy Lou Harris". Kilroy flew to Nashville where she performed at the Bluebird with Ewing, Viktor Krauss, Pat Flynn, Barry Walsh and Tommy Harding.
Kilroy has performed with Guy Davis, Nerak Roth Patterson, Walt Michaels and Lea Gilmore, on a number of occations including AACW's Blues and Jazz festival, in Yellowsprings, Ohio and Common Ground Folk Festival in Westminister, Maryland. She has also performed with many folk and bluegrass legends including: Darrell Scott, John Lowell, Ben Winship, Pete and Anne Sibley, Steam Powered Airplane and Thomas Sneed. After performing with Kilroy, John Lowell stated "To invite comparison of Jessica Kilroy's voice and music to another singer/songwriter would sell it short. Comparing it to someone familiar would not be enough, because her voice is her own. Clear, accurate and wonderfully soothing, her voice draws the listener in. Stop, then listen. You'll be a fan too."
Kilroy has a style all her own, incorporating Folk, Bluegrass and Americana into a masterful, musical medley that attracts people of many different musical tastes. Nerak Roth Patterson describes Kilroy as "One of the generations leading female songwriters."
