15-year old Kjersti Long  is a pop/rock sensation, who can be recognized by her first single ‘Not Your Princess’. She has new music and a summer tour for the summer of 2022. She launched her career at the young age of 11. Kjersti, a Warner Music Distributor is showing off her talent with a forthcoming EP that will contain ‘Boys In Jersey’, her newly penned, irresistibly catchy, humorous and slightly irreverent Pop/Rock track.

Kjersti, you’re currently on ‘Boys of Summer Tour’ across America. What is the most satisfying part of performing in front of large audience and fans?

Getting to share my music with the fans and audience. It’s a really amazing feeling when you share songs that you worked hard on and the crowd loves them just as much as you do. Also getting to meet the fans before and afterward is always fun.

Your single ‘Boys in Jersey’ is an irresistibly catch, humorous and slightly irreverent Pop/Rock track. Where did the idea and inspiration for this track come from?

Well, the people I co-wrote it with wanted it to be a cute love song. My response was “Eww, no the boys in Jersey suck”. We thought ‘Boys in Jersey’ was too good of a title to pass up, so instead of a love song we got a song about how annoying stereotypical boys are.

You started your career very young. You’ve written your first original song at 9, headlined the iconic rock club ‘The Bitter End’ in NYC at 11 and released your first album at 12. Have you always known that music is the one thing you wanted to do in life?

Not always, I was super indecisive as a little kid. If you asked me at age 6 what I wanted to be when I grew up, I’d basically list all the professions there were. Once I was old enough to understand that I couldn’t be a police ninja zookeeper rockstar, singing trumped all the rest, so I stuck with that one.

What do you want to represent with your music?

I want to show people that they should do what makes them happy in life. I want to help people the best I can through music, whether that be to give them joy or help them work through difficult emotions.

As a lyricist, you are a gifted storyteller and have unusual ways of spinning dialog to express feelings your listeners can relate to, whether they are young or old. Your first original song ‘Rollercoaster’ was about struggles with anxiety and overcoming your own personal challenges. Where do you usually draw inspiration from when you are penning down the lyrics?

Most of the time they just come to me at super random times, but usually my inspiration comes from everyday experiences, whether happy or sad. I’m also inspired by books. I sometimes write based on how the characters in the books I’m reading feel.

You’ve worked and performed with Grammy nominated and winning artists. Who left the biggest impact on you so far?

All of them, they’re all so cool and impressive. I learned a lot from the artists I’ve worked with down in Nashville. It’s kind of like they have their own secret music language that you can only learn by being submersed in their world for a little while. But overall, I’ve learned so much from all of them.

Who would you really love to work with or collaborate with in the future of your music career?

There is a lot of people that are no longer with us that I’d love to work with, but since they’re not here anymore, it wouldn’t really work out. I’d love to work with the violinist Lindsey Stirling, cause I love how Rock sounds with violins overtop. One of my all time favorite rock songs is ‘Rock You Like a Hurricane’, when the Scorpions did it live with the full orchestral accompaniment.

At your artist launch at the age of eleven, you received high praises from the media and public. How has this boosted your confidence for your career?

It showed me that I had support and it wasn’t just my parents that thought I was good.

You are a big supporter of giving back to the commjnity and organizations. Why is this important to you? Which cause do you believe is the most important currently?

Life is no fun when you have to struggle to get by, so I wanna help make it easier for everyone. I know that I am super blessed with what I have and I want to share my blessings with others. 

I think all causes are important. I think that we have more then enough food for everyone in this world and the farms around the world that help bring fresh produce to food pantries are so cool. We had one near our house and I loved volunteering there.

How do you love to spend your free time?

Reading, riding horses, playing with my dogs and cats, annoying my siblings and most importantly playing, listening to and creating music.

You have a new album coming out soon. Tell us more about what can we expect from it.

Good music. Lots of super catchy songs like ‘Boys in Jersey’, some softer songs, some emotional songs, all sorts of stuff. I’m super excited.

Interview by JANA LETONJA

Photography DAVID CAPTEIN