Country Star Jessica Lynn Returns for Fundraiser Concert

The auditorium at Port Chester Middle School will be the place to be on Nov. 1 when country music standout and Westchester native Jessica Lynn returns to the stage for another “Benefit Concert for the Arts.”

Her second annual concert at the school will be a benefit for the PCMS drama program. Ms. Lynn will feature some of her newest hits.

The concert will be one of many she has planned in Westchester County in the upcoming weeks and serves as way for her to give back to those who have supported her throughout her career.

Raised in Yorktown, Ms. Lynn was involved in her school’s drama club, chorus and jazz band.

“I was always doing anything the school offered,” she said. “I think that is why it’s so important to do this show for Port Chester. For me, to have those opportunities in school gave me a platform and gave me a career. Any way I can help students to achieve their goals is really important to me.”

The concert, she said, is also a way to combine her two passions—music and teaching. In the event that her music career did not pan out the way she had hoped, she had planned to become a teacher and earned a Master’s in special education.

“I was always doing music from the time I was a little kid,” she said, adding that country music appealed to her because it was what her father played when she was growing up. She has come to feel that it is one of the most unique ways to tell stories.

Being from New York, however, has influenced her too. She has adopted the eclectic mix of rock and R & B, reflecting the abundance of music styles found in nearby New York City.

“Making my music, it is a melting pot,” she said. “It made me stand out.”

Ms. Lynn can recall the day she decided that music was the path she wanted to follow. She was walking to her chorus class when she saw a poster for a “Battle of the Bands” her school was hosting. She got to class and asked if anyone there played the guitar. The band performed at the Paramount Theater in Peekskill, the same place that Ms. Lynn would, years later, return to in 2015 to film a PBS television special. She also continues to perform other benefit shows there.

“It’s really cool for me,” she said. “It’s one of those full-circle things.”

For more information on Ms. Lynn, visit www.jessicalynnmusic.org and check local PBS listings for her special “Jessica Lynn Live at Dramatic Hall.”

The “Benefit Concert for the Arts” will be held on Nov. 1 at 7:30 p.m. at Port Chester Middle School auditorium. Tickets are $40 for adults and $20 for students, they can be purchased at www.showtix4u.com.