Countdown to Cavendish Beach Festival – Q & A with Livy Jeanne

By: Jenna Melanson

On July 10-12, 2015, which is ONE week away, country artists and bands from Canada and beyond will be in Cavendish, PEI for the ever popular, Cavendish Beach Music Festival. If you consider yourself a country fan, and have the opportunity to attend, I recommend you do! We were fortunate enough to score a series of interviews with some of the Canadian talent, so now Canadian Beats presents our Countdown to Cavendish Beach Music Festival.

Our first Q&A features a country/pop artist from Edmonton, AB. Livy Jeanne has recently released a new single, “All Kinds Of Crazy” which will be on her upcoming album, “Dashboard Renegade”, to be released on July 17th. You can pre-order it HERE!  Find out more about Livy in our interview below!

When did you decide you wanted to pursue music as a career path?

I was about 13 or 14 when I really knew I wanted this to be my career. I think as I continue to grow as an artist it’s an everyday reminder that this is the right career for me. At the end of the day, music always makes me happy.

Who have been your biggest musical influences throughout the years?

I grew up listening to a very wide variety of music…. I was the girl singing the soundtrack to the Titanic and doing all the Spice Girl dances. My dad always had country music playing, and I grew up listening to Tim McGraw, Kenny Chesney, Alan Jackson, Lonestar just to name a few… My mom listened to a lot to artists like the BeeGees, James Taylor, Celine Dion. My step-mom listened to a lot of classic rock like The Rolling Stones, The Doors, ACDC, Led Zepplin and my step-dad listened to all the oldies from the 60’s…. So growing up I was surrounded by literally EVERY genre…. If I had to narrow it down, I like to say I’m a mix of Dixie Chicks and Katy Perry.

As a country artist, the Cavendish Beach Music Festival is a pretty big deal, how does it feel to play this festival?

I’m pretty excited! I haven’t played a lot of festivals yet and this is a BIG one for me. I am so excited to not only attend the festival but also be in PEI as I have only been once in the winter when I was on the Young Guns Tour.

How would you explain one of your live shows to someone that has yet to see you in concert?

A fun-filled, energetic rollercoaster ride… Start things off with a bang… bring you through the ups and down and leave you on a high with a smile on your face and a bounce in your step.

What’s your favourite song to perform live?

My favourite song to perform live is probably my song “Wrong Side Of The Dirt”. It’s just such a sassy and badass song… people really get into it and enjoy being sassy with me…

There are a ton of great performers at this year’s Cavendish Beach Music Festival, are there any specific performances you are excited for?

I’m really excited to see Kristian Bush perform. I was lucky enough to debut at the Bluebird Café last time I was in Nashville and Kristian was playing that round… it was an unreal experience being able to have my debut at the Bluebird with 3 writers that wrote songs I grew up singing along to and Kristian being one of them. It will be cool seeing him play his own material and bring it to life.

Are you performing at any other festivals throughout the summer?

I have a few really fun festivals to attend this year… I will be in Ajax, Ontario. Music in the Fields in Lucknow, Ontario. I will be attending Boots and Hearts and then performing a bunch at CNE in Toronto.

If you were asked to give a rising Country artist some advice, what would that advice be?

I think there is a lot of advice in so many different areas that I could touch on but I think for me the one thing I always go back to is celebrate the victories…all victories no matter what size because they all add up and will help bring you to the next step… don’t focus all your energy on the massive goals because sometimes they can be far away.. focus on the things you can do right now in this moment to be the best person/artist you can be.

One thing that is a major marketing innovation these days is social media, making it possible for artists to connect with their fans by a simple touch of the keyboard. Do you feel this is a vital tool that all artists should partake in?

Since the beginning of this adventure for myself, social media has always played an important part and I personally love it. I really enjoy connecting with new people through different portals knowing that what has brought us together is the love of music and that’s pretty cool… So yes I feel it is vital…  My personal favourite is Instagram 🙂

What’s up next for you?

Well my album Dashboard Renegade is going to be released on July 17 and my new single All Kinds of Crazy is already on ITunes. So I’ll definitely be preparing for that and I’m always just working on my music and constantly writing.

Is there anything you’d like to say to your fans?

Thank you for all the ongoing support and love you have given me… I can’t wait to meet some of you over the summer at my shows! Please keep in touch as I love reading your comments and chatting with all of you!