Rising Stars: Meet Jess (@twentysidesjess) Twenty Sides Podcast of greater Nashville area

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jess (@twentysidesjess) Twenty Sides Podcast

Hi Jess (@twentysidesjess), thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
It all started during the pandemic, when two groups of friends began to play Dungeons and Dragons (a tabletop roleplaying game) online via Zoom. As places reopened and people started going back to work, the groups merged into one. With members having a background in audio recording and podcasting, they knew they would be able to turn a super fun hobby into a professional product and thus Twenty Sides Podcast was created! After over a year of releasing consistent content, Twenty Sides Podcast has become a top 25 Apple Gaming Podcast, successfully launched a Patreon, and are actively building their Dungeons and Dragons Twenty Sides newsletter and network.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Fortunately for us, the road has been pretty smooth! I was new to Dungeons and Dragons, but I grew up reading and watching Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, Harry Potter, all things science fiction and fantasy, as well as having some theatre experience. I wouldn’t say I had any “struggles” per se. I was open to playing and building the podcast, but I knew there would be a few obstacles to overcome. One, I started playing during the pandemic, and I was really worried once we started to release episodes, listeners who were DnD pros would give me a hard time for not knowing all of the rules. Because we are an actual play podcast, mistakes and errors aren’t editted out. Instead, we discuss them in real time while recording. Two, I was worried that being a girl, I would get a lot of criticism because I believed DnD was male dominated. Thankfully, the DnD and gaming community is really awesome and extremely diverse! I have met some of my favorite people through Game Cons and social media, and everyone has been super supportive. As a group, I think scheduling has been the biggest struggle for us. We are professionals and parents by day (shout out to our amazing partners and families for holding down the fort), so finding the time to record even once a month can be difficult during sports seasons!

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
We create a high quality, Dungeons and Dragons podcast called Twenty Sides Podcast that is available every week on all podcast platforms and a video version on YouTube. It is a fast-paced, story-driven, actual-play podcast that is about 30 to 40 minutes long. It is family friendly, so you can listen to it in the car around kids. I play Leona, a moon elf wizard with a dark past. She travels the homebrew world of Eclura, along with a dwarf barbarian, a half elf rogue, and a warforge cleric, fighting an ancient necrotic evil. We also have two Patreon exclusive podcasts, “The Other Side” and “Veil of Shadows”. I am most proud of our ability to stay in character and role play. We have so much fun with one another, and our listeners and viewers can definitely tell.

What quality or characteristic do you feel is most important to your success?
Our audio quality and sound are far better than most podcasts, which makes it easy to follow along and understand what is going on in the story. Recording in person together is extremely important to us, not only does it help the table chemistry, but we end up with a more professional product audio and sound wise. We are all very invested in the podcast from audio engineering to running our socials and creating content and designing merch. Authenticity is very important to us. The version of us that you see and hear, is the version you get in “real life.” We love interacting with listeners on our socials and at Game Cons, so let’s be friends!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.linktr.ee/twentysidespod
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/twentysidespod
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TwentySidesPod
• Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/twentysidespod
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@twentysidespodcast
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@twentysidespod