Today we’d like to introduce you to Jesse Dozzi.
Jesse, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I grew up in Australia in a very musical family. Both of my parents were working musicians, and my dad was also a songwriter, so music was always a huge part of my life. Some of my earliest memories of performing were Christmas caroling with my cousins, which eventually turned into forming a band together. Later, I started a band with my older sister, and that’s when we really began writing our own original music. Eventually, our younger sister joined us, and that became Dozzi.
We started releasing music in Australia and built enough momentum to take a pretty big leap and move to Nashville in 2016. Nashville had always been the dream for me. I knew it was home to some of the best songwriters in the world, and I wanted to be right in the middle of it all, learning from those people, collaborating, and pushing myself to become the best songwriter I could be.
Songwriting has always been a huge part of who I am, even before I really understood what it meant to be a songwriter. Growing up, it was how I processed my emotions and made sense of things happening in my life. It was almost like therapy for me. I could sit down with a guitar, write something I was feeling, and somehow come out the other side feeling a little lighter. That connection to songwriting has never really left me.
I spent many years performing, writing, and releasing music with Dozzi, but in 2024, that chapter came to an end, and I started a new journey as a solo artist. It was a big transition after spending so much of my life in a band, but it also gave me the opportunity to figure out who I was creatively on my own.
Around that same time, I really started putting more energy into writing songs with and for other artists. I’ve always loved the idea of helping someone tell their story through music. There’s something really special about sitting in a room with another person, hearing what they’re going through, and finding a way to turn that into a song that feels completely authentic to them.
In 2020, I also started teaching myself music production, which opened up a whole new creative world for me. It’s helped me become a better songwriter and given me the ability to bring the sounds and ideas I hear in my head to life, both for my own music and when I’m working with other artists.
In 2025, I became a mother for the first time, which has added a whole new layer of meaning to everything I do. If anything, it’s deepened my connection to music and given me an even bigger fire to keep pursuing what I love. It’s changed my perspective in a lot of ways, but it’s also reminded me how important it is to keep chasing the things that make you feel most like yourself.
I recently released my first solo album, *Thought It’d Be Different*, a nine-song project that represents this new chapter of my career. I’m continuing to release music as an artist, but a big part of my focus these days is writing and producing for other people. I genuinely love both sides of it.
I’ve now been in Nashville for ten years, and I can honestly say I’ve learned more about songwriting, music, and myself than I ever could have imagined when we first moved here. Especially over the last couple of years, I feel like I’ve grown tremendously, both creatively and personally. One of the things I love most about this industry is that you’re never really done learning. There’s always another song to write, another story to tell, and another person to learn something from.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
I think one of the biggest challenges early on was simply believing in something that felt so far outside the norm of what people around me were doing. Growing up in Australia, I didn’t know many people who were pursuing the kind of career I wanted. I often felt like a bit of a dreamer, and sometimes I wondered if people really understood what I was trying to do. Not because anyone necessarily told me it was unrealistic, but I think I sometimes interpreted it that way. My family has always been incredibly supportive, but I knew that moving across the world to pursue music probably seemed like a pretty big gamble to some people. For whatever reason, though, I’ve always had this feeling inside me that this is what I’m supposed to be doing, even knowing there are absolutely no guarantees.
Moving to Nashville was a huge learning curve in itself. We knew a couple of people, but we were essentially starting from scratch in a new country. Beyond trying to find our feet in the music industry, there was just so much to figure out about everyday life. Everything from the different terminology and expressions people used to the food, the culture, and simply learning how things worked in America. We had no American credit history, no real idea how we were going to make money, and quickly learned how difficult even the simplest things could be. Getting a credit card, setting up electricity, finding somewhere to live without having to pay enormous deposits. All the things you don’t really think about when you’re dreaming of moving to Nashville to write songs!
About nine months after moving here, we experienced probably one of the biggest setbacks of our lives. We’d only recently moved into an apartment and had just bought everything we needed to make it feel like home, right down to the knives and forks. A fire started in the apartment next door and spread to ours, and we lost pretty much everything we owned. Somehow, our PA system survived, which was such a blessing because it meant we could still go out, play shows, and earn a living while we tried to get back on our feet.
It was devastating, and I’m sure there were people who thought that might be the thing that sent us back to Australia. But something really beautiful came out of that experience. By that point, we’d met some incredible people in Nashville who rallied around us, donated clothes, helped us replace things, and really showed us what a special community we’d landed in.
Through that experience, we also connected with someone who offered us a place to live in an apartment building he was developing. In exchange, we became involved in helping create a sense of community there, including organizing music and social events. That one opportunity ended up taking us down an entirely different path and introducing us to people who became really important in our lives. It’s actually where I met my wife, which makes the whole thing feel even more like fate looking back. Although at the time, it certainly didn’t feel that way!
There have been plenty of other challenges along the way, too. Navigating the music industry, finding ourselves in business situations that weren’t what we’d hoped for, and dealing with the uncertainty of visas and sponsorships while trying to build a career in another country. There have definitely been moments where things felt pretty overwhelming.
I think one of the biggest things I’ve learned is that this journey rarely looks the way you imagine it will. There are so many things outside of your control, and you have to learn to adapt, keep showing up, and sometimes completely reinvent yourself. But I’ve also learned that some of the hardest experiences can lead you to people and places you never would have found otherwise. I wouldn’t wish some of those challenges on anyone, but I also wouldn’t be where I am today without them.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
These days, my work is really split between two things I love: being an artist myself and writing and producing music for other artists. Songwriting has always been at the heart of everything I do, and I love the whole creative process, from sitting down with someone and finding the story they want to tell, to building a song into something that feels finished and ready for the world.
I primarily work in country and pop music, and I think one of my favorite parts of collaborating is getting to know the person I’m writing with and figuring out what makes their perspective unique. I love songs that feel honest and relatable, whether they’re emotional and vulnerable or just something that makes you feel good. Having spent so many years as an artist myself, I understand how personal it can be to put your own music out into the world, and I try to bring that understanding into every writing room.
One of the things I’m most proud of recently is releasing my first solo album, *Thought It’d Be Different*, in October. It’s a collection of nine songs that I released over the last couple of years, and having them all together in one place feels really special. It’s almost like a little snapshot of my life during that time, both personally and creatively. I love that music has this ability to capture a moment in your life that you can always go back to.
I’m equally proud when another artist records and releases a song I’ve been part of writing. There’s something pretty incredible about hearing someone else bring your words and melodies to life, and knowing that something you helped create is out in the world connecting with people you’ve never even met. That feeling never gets old.
As far as what sets me apart, I think it’s probably a combination of experience, persistence, and a really strong belief in what I’m doing. I’ve been making music for as long as I can remember, and through all the different chapters of my career, I’ve never really questioned whether this is what I’m meant to do. The path has changed plenty of times, but that feeling hasn’t.
Becoming a mother has also made me much more intentional with my time. I don’t have the same amount of uninterrupted hours I once did, so I’ve learned to be more focused and purposeful with the time I have to create. In some ways, I think that’s made me even more driven. I’m not afraid of hard work, and after doing this for so many years, I think I’ve developed a kind of determination that’s pretty hard to shake. I genuinely love what I do, and I don’t really know how to give up on it.
Any big plans?
Looking ahead, I’d really love to continue getting into rooms with new songwriters and artists, building relationships, and hopefully having the opportunity to write for some more established artists. One of my biggest goals is to have songs I’ve been part of writing reach larger audiences. There’s something so exciting about the idea of a song you helped create finding its way into the lives of people all over the world.
I don’t think I’ll ever stop releasing my own music, either. That will always be a part of who I am, and I love having that creative outlet to tell my own stories.
But honestly, one of the things I look forward to most is simply the next writing session. Whether that’s sitting down by myself with a guitar and an idea, or having the privilege of helping someone else turn their thoughts and experiences into a catchy tune. There’s something really special about walking into a room with nothing and leaving a few hours later with a song that didn’t exist before.
I have plenty of goals and dreams I’m still chasing, but I think the thing that keeps me excited is knowing that you never really know what the next song might lead to.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.jessedozzi.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jessedozzi/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jessedozzimusic
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@JesseDozzi
- Soundcloud: https://on.soundcloud.com/u4c80v1cNsAlcGitun
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/jessedozzi
