Today we’d like to introduce you to Jesse MacLeod.
Hi Jesse, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I’ve been living in Nashville for a little over three years, but I’m originally from Los Angeles. I picked up the guitar in 2007 and started playing and singing cover songs at restaurants and wine bars in the Fall of 2008. I began writing my own songs around that time and released an EP in 2010 and 2012, and two songs in 2017. I was playing regularly in the LA singer/songwriter scene throughout the 2010s at venues like the Hotel Cafe, Room 5, and Witzend. I ran into some health issues in 2019 and was inactive until 2022.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The biggest challenge I faced was a cancer diagnosis in 2019. I was diagnosed with spindle cell melanoma, a rare form of skin cancer that originated in my bottom lip. The initial tumor was removed in 2016, but I had a recurrence in 2019, when it had metastasized. I was put on a clinical trial with an experimental drug and received an infusion every three weeks from Sept 2019 through August 2021. Fatigue was one of the biggest side effects of the drug, and while I was still playing music and writing songs at home, I didn’t have the stamina to play for an extended period of time, so I wasn’t playing live while on treatment.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I’m a Roots/Americana singer/songwriter. My pop is a Blues musician, so I grew up with that music playing throughout my childhood. Blues is very much a part of who I am, and it comes through in my singing and playing. I’d like to think of my songs as simple, relatable, and conversational. The thing I’m most proud of is working my way back to playing live and feeling at home on stage again after the diagnosis.
How do you think about luck?
I consider myself one of the luckiest people on the planet, for a multitude of reasons. Firstly, I was lucky enough to be one of the patients selected in the clinical trial led by Dr. Omid Hamid at The Angeles Clinic in LA. The immunotherapy drug I was given effectively cured me of cancer and saved my life. Had I not been given the drug, I was likely looking at six to nine months. Second, I have the best parents in the world. Both my mom and dad were relentlessly optimistic that I was going to make it, even when I didn’t believe I was going to.
Before the trial, I had people reach out to me: family members, friends, acquaintances, people I had met in passing. These people played a huge role in me still being here today. In particular, my friends in the LA music scene who put on a benefit concert in September 2019, days before my first infusion, where they played my songs. That night reminded me that I still have more to do here.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://jessemacleod.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jessemacleodmusic
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JesseMacLeodMusic/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCH9i9XR0FdS0kIOLDzFUqZw
- Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/5ndQFoUD96y5ovLhCP9AyH
Image Credits
Ashley Maietta, Bradford Hunter Wray, Jarrod Cotton
