Meet Jacy Dawn Valeras | Award-Winning Podcaster, Television Host, Producer & Music Business Executive.

We had the good fortune of connecting with Jacy Dawn Valeras and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jacy Dawn, what’s the most difficult decision you’ve ever had to make?

When you have a career in the music industry, so many decisions are difficult ones because there isn’t a straight line or an exact roadmap to follow. I started my career as a singer and was given so many incredible opportunities because of that but then I hit a point where it was no longer the thing that moved me… I was struggling with my vocal cords and lost the overall good feeling that my singing career once brought to me. I remember going through a long and difficult period where I felt like my entire identity was attached to this one thing, but everything inside me was telling me I needed to pivot. Everyone had known me as Jacy the singer since I was a little girl so how could I change everything about my identity?

Pivoting from a career as a singer to launching my own business, helping other singers was the most difficult decision I ever had to face. My husband, Mike, played such a strong role in encouraging me to do it. He believed I had many talents outside of performing and that I could and would have success in the music industry, without having to stand on a stage.

Launching my own business led to many more opportunities, relationships and a career that I would have never even imagined for myself had I not made the difficult decision to go for it. It even led to my opportunity to interview artists and produce a nationally televised series. My love for the music industry is so deeply rooted inside of me and now I get to share that love with others while making a living doing it!

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?

I have worked in so many corners of the music industry at this point in my career, but I must say that what I am doing now producing and hosting a television series, has been the true highlight of my life. Having the chance to shine a spotlight on country music and the artists I grew up listening to is a dream come true. I also love any opportunity I get to allow a new artist to talk about their career and hopes and dreams. Combining my love for music, the business of music and the artists who make it really is the best of all possible worlds.

Some of the people I am most proud to have interviewed are Rita Wilson who is warm, kind and just a joy to be around and also, Dennis Quaid. He is a wonderful guy, super down to earth and open. One of my favorite interviews this year was Darius Rucker. I was nervous for that one but we had a great conversation and he made me laugh. Hosting on the ACM Awards red carpet was the most nerve-wracking but most rewarding thing I did this year. I interviewed about thirty artists in two hours! What a whirlwind. I also loved getting to interview Carolyn Dawn Johnson on the CCMA awards red carpet in Canada. I just love everything about her. Those are all highlights for sure.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?

Some of my favorite places in Nashville are still the ones that I was excited to visit when I first got to town. The Grand Ole Opry will always be a sacred place to me. I have been there probably more than one hundred times now and the feeling of being in the building never gets old.

For lunch in Nashville I am always a fan of Taco Mamacita and for dinner, I love Italian so it’s often, Amerigo and we recently did a highlight on the newly opened Frank Sinatra bar on a TV show I was working on. It is a great spot for a night out. My favorite place to have a drink is just north of Nashville, in Hendersonville and it is called Edit. They have the most friendly staff and delicious cocktails.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?

I was having coffee with my high school art teacher and now friend, Paula Brown the other day and we were talking about all of the important people who touch our lives along the way, I was thanking her for being one of mine. Our conversation got me thinking about how lucky I have been…

First and foremost my family is greatly responsible for any success that I have. My parents and sister believed in me from the very early days and dreams of wanting to start a career in music.

I would not be who I am or where I am without my husband Mike, who moved across the country with me to Nashville so that we could both have bigger opportunities in the music industry. He has stood by me through every high and every low.

My friend Kelly Lang is the reason I even have a business here in Nashville. She was the first person to put her trust in me, allowing me to work with her and to contribute in so many ways to her own music career. I am forever grateful to her.

A few years ago, I decided to see if it would be possible for me to connect with a woman who was the first person I aspired to be like in the music industry, Lois Lilienstein. Lois, along with Sharon Hampson & Bram Morrison, made up the award-winning children’s trio, Sharon, Lois & Bram. They were my first concert and from the moment I saw them onstage, I knew that was what I wanted to do with my own life. I was able to get a thank you letter to Lois only 20 days before she passed away. It was the last fan letter she ever received and that brief exchange opened a door to a friendship with Sharon & Bram and Sharon’s daughter Randi, who manages the trio. They have since become clients and treasured friends. Because of them, so many opportunities have come my way. Too many to list. I will forever be grateful to all of them for believing in me and for opening their hearts and so many doors for me.

I also have to thank my podcast co-host, Candy O’Terry, who has taught me so much about the art of a brilliant interview. She was the first person to give me an opportunity to interview a country artist, which helped to launch my own career.

There are so many others and I hope they know who they are.

Website: jacydawnvaleras.com

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Image Credits
Joshua Ernest / Ernest Photography Rod Hafezi Nicholas Scolaro Crystal Reed