Today we’d like to introduce you to Jasmine Tate.
Jasmine, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
So, I started doing music in the Spring of 2010. When I went off to college in Pittsburgh, I had dreams of working in corporate America as a Creative Director for a major record label or television network. That dream was really connected to a bigger dream though. I’ve always had the heart to show celebrities and people of influence authentic relationship – the kind of relationship that isn’t dependent upon or determined by their platform or abilities and I thought working in corporate America was the best route to it. Clearly, my idea of how to befriend this group of people was all wrong! Ha! It still has happened, just not at all in the way I thought it would happen.
My journey into music was quite supernatural, to say the least. After several months of receiving prophetic words from Pastors and people having dreams and visions of me playing the guitar and singing on stages of all sizes, God taught me how to play the guitar in my college dorm room. It’s a rather dramatic, but pretty cool story. Every time someone brought these words, visions and dreams up to me, they said they saw people being healed physically and emotionally and set free of depression, suicidal thoughts, and even anxiety through my music. They saw God moving through my music to bring healing and freedom to people! Since then, I’ve seen exactly that happen! Whether it’s at a coffee shop, bar, winery, church, house or university, I’ve gotten to witness people being led into life-changing moments through a song.
In April of 2018, I moved from the beautiful state of Pennsylvania to Fort Worth, TX to help some friends start an incredible church called Mercy Culture. Since being here, I’ve found that there is such a rich, underground scene of singer-songwriters and overall creatives who also feel a stirring to use their creative expressions to lead people into life-changing encounters. I look forward to building and collaborating with artists like this! I absolutely love doing music, but my number one passion has become connecting, equipping and empowering those creatives to do what they were created to do! I’m having a blast!
Great, 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?
It’s been a pretty smooth road, to be completely honest! As an artist though, it has been difficult to acclimate to a new culture and completely rebuild everything from scratch. I moved here from Pennsylvania, where I’d already spent several years building relationships in the art scene. These relationships were a major part of my support system. I really value relationships and authentic connection over opportunities and status. Unfortunately, this type of value system can make rebuilding a support system take a little longer than it would for artists who maybe have a different value system. I’m willing to take a chance there to fight for career depth and sustainability, but it is definitely a challenge.
I’m so thankful for the relationships that have already been built in this region! Pavor Productions is a production company based in Dallas that produced one of my latest music videos – Better Days. They’re incredible people with such big hearts to help other creatives in the city. In that music video, I got to collaborate with a dance company called Zion Dance Project! They MADE the music video what it is – absolutely beautiful. Art of Homage is a streetwear brand that I did a video collaboration with, for a song of mine called Insomnia. They’ve easily become one of my favorite brands and they’re based in this region! Needless to say, despite the challenges, I’ve been able to make authentic connections with some incredible people in the arts scene – and that’s just to name a few! Our region is LOADED with incredible people!
What do you do? What do you specialize in?
I’d say that desire for authentic relationship and connection with people is what sets me apart from some other singer-songwriters. I just love using music to create a space for real human-to-human connection and God-to-human healing. I think we have enough performers/entertainers who would rather with use their creative gifts for personal gain, personal therapy, and fame. We need more creatives who want to create spaces for healing, reconciliation, perspective and freedom for the human heart. God is the only source for this kind of work to be done in the human heart, so my ultimate desire is to create spaces for God to meet people. One of my favorite things about doing shows is seeing people encounter God for the first time. I sincerely want people to leave feeling known, loved and more whole than they felt before they came. At the end of the day, I want my music to lead people into daily, personal encounters with God.
Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
Well, I’m definitely not the best vocalist who ever lived, nor the best guitar player who ever played. I don’t believe that skill always translates into success. I believe the authenticity of my sound and content of my music has played a huge part in any success I’ve had as an artist. We live in such a shallow world, but I believe people are hungry for something real! We’re all hungry for substance. I think people keep listening because it’s coming from an authentic place – full of substance. We all have a God-sized void in our heart that only He could fill. When we find content that brings us closer to the reality of God, we can’t deny it. I believe God has given me songs that lead people closer to the only One who could fill that God-sized void.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.jasminetate.com
- Email: jasmine@jasminetate.com
- Instagram: @jasminetatertot
Image Credit:
Mercy Culture, Faceless Creative Co., Ly Tran, Drewlio Photo, Pavor Productions
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