Queen’s alum Jessica Wolowich, ArtSci ’25, does local melomaniacs a favour by releasing a new upbeat single.
Local musician Wolowich has undertaken her most significant musical endeavour yet. On Aug. 14, she released “Favour,” the lead single for her upcoming debut album, an indie folk rock project perfect for fans of Father John Misty, Lucy Dacus, and Taylor Swift.
The single’s release was celebrated with a performance from Jess & the Mess, Wolowich’s backing band, at Musiikki on Aug. 15. Members of the band include Wolowich, Ben Granger from The Astros, Max Tinline, and Devin Pierce. As well, Kasador’s Thomas Draper opened with a solo set and returned to join the band for their final song, a cover of MJ Lenderman’s “She’s Leaving You.”
“Favour” was recorded at Port William Sound with Jonas Bonnetta, who she’s recorded two of her three previous singles with. Despite having already released three singles prior to “Favour,” Wolowich refers to it as her “biggest project yet,” as it is the lead single for her upcoming album, release date unknown, and is accompanied by a music video.
Shot over two days in June, the music video is chaotic, caffeine-fuelled fun. The video features Wolowich singing in red headphones, walking a cat, smoking a cigarette, chasing a car, and exploding a piñata… with a gun.
“We definitely leaned into the messy, carefree energy of the song… the openness and the comfort in learning to take up space and be loud and be silly. I do a lot of awkward dancing in it. It’s lots of chaotic fun,” she said in an interview with The Journal.
The music video was shot and led by Andy O’Neil, a member of The Astros who has his master’s in Screen Cultures & Curatorial Studies from Queen’s film department, and Colin Low, ArtSci ’24, who’s also a film and media graduate. Granger and O’Neil worked together on editing and colour grading the video.
“A lot of Queen’s education and arts and culture has gone into this video,” Wolowich said, highlighting how releasing the single and the music video has reminded her of the mantra, ‘the sum is greater than all of its parts.’
There’s also quite an intimate and special collaboration that contributed to the creation of “Favour.” The song was co-written by Ben Granger, a member of Jess & the Mess, The Astros, and Wolowich’s boyfriend. After attending one of The Astros’ shows and already knowing a member of the band, Wolowich had the courage to walk up to the merch table to introduce herself, which has now led to a profound musical and romantic partnership.
“It’s a very Kingston, very Queen’s kind of story,” Wolowich said.
She credits Granger with the idea and inspiration that the song responds to, which was the sentiment of, “do me a favour and take care of yourself.”
“It really reminded me of experiences that I’ve had and the feeling of somebody chiming in and trying to shape what you’re doing when you really don’t need their input, and then we just ran with it from there,” Wolowich said.
As their meet-cute attests, honesty and vulnerability are key pillars of “Favour.”
“This song kind of says, ‘Just get to the point. Just be messy. Just be honest.’ It’ll make this communication happen more effectively… I’m tired of dancing around the subject. Let’s get into it,” she said.
Since Wolowich began her undergraduate degree, she had been involved and interested in the Kingston music scene. However, her love didn’t start there.
Wolowich grew up with her dad playing guitar, and like many young girls, had an early obsession with Taylor Swift. After getting her first guitar when she was ten, she hasn’t looked back since.
Although she was introduced to music at a young age, Queen’s played a significant role in nurturing Wolowich’s passion for music, especially by joining clubs like Queen’s Album Club and Queen’s Music Club as well as engaging with Kingston’s rich music community outside of classes.
While offering advice to other Queen’s students who are aspiring musicians, Wolowich encourages everyone to seek out opportunities outside of academics.
“There are so many different ways to get involved, and so many different kinds of clubs that cater to all kinds of different interests. So my biggest advice is just do it. Just see what you can find.”
Beyond that, local fans are encouraged to stay tuned to find out when Wolowich’s debut album will be released, but she has “really big plans for it.” In the meantime, “Favour” will keep fans happily waiting.
Tags
indie music, Jessica Wolowich, Kingston Music, Port William Sound
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