Saskatchewan country music artist Jordyn Pollard is fast building a career based on her positive, authentic, infectiously energetic personality, numerous festival appearances, and regular releases, with her latest song “Single at A Wedding” hitting streaming services Aug. 25.
Pollard is from Lloydminster, Sask, and is not quite 22 (her birthday is in September). Nevertheless, like many musically talented individuals, she got her start early and is already an experienced professional.
“Professionally, it’s been about five or six years, but I first started performing live when I was around 11 or 12, at open mic nights and festivals and things,” Pollard said during an interview with MooseJawToday.com (including a special livestreamed performance featuring “Single at a Wedding”!). “And now my career has grown to what it is today, where I’m releasing my own music and having shows and playing at even more festivals. It’s been a wild ride.”
Pollard will appear alongside Corb Lund, the Mike Plume Band, and Lindi Ortega on September 9 for the Homestand ’23 concert in Ross Wells Ballpark in Moose Jaw.
This will be the third edition of Homestand, a homegrown charity concert that includes a pre-concert livestream of the yearly Banjo Bowl football game, food trucks, local vendors, and some of Canada’s most-loved musical acts. Homestand is organized by non-profit River Street Promotions (RSP), with proceeds benefitting the RSP Fund for Youth Mental Wellness in southern Saskatchewan.
“With Homestand, I get to share the stage with some incredible artists,” Pollard said. “Mike Plume, I haven’t got to see him perform yet, but I’ve heard a lot about him. Lindi Ortega, I remember growing up watching her on CMT, and I saw her perform at BVJ probably five or six years ago, so it’s really cool that I get to share the stage with her.
“And Corb Lund, I’ve actually opened for him previously in Vermillion, Alberta, which was such a fun time.”
Pollard shared a cool connection between RSP and her latest song: “Single at a Wedding” was written by Phil Barton, who played at RSP’s Music Row at the Mae last April. Pollard made a surprise appearance at that concert and sang “Back to Us” — written by Victoria Banks, another musician at Music Row at the Mae.
“I actually met Phil at the Canadian Country Music Awards in Saskatoon in like, 2017, I want to say, and he was playing guitar backing up one of my all-time favourite songwriters, Liz Rose. And he’s signed to her publishing team, and ever since I met him and Liz, he’s kind of kept in touch.
“And about two years ago, he messaged me and said, ‘I’m coming to play in Moose Jaw.’ And I said, ‘Well, that’s not actually very close to me, but I’ll come.’ And I got in touch with [RSP co-founder Jared Mathieson] and mentioned that Victoria Banks had written my single ‘Back to Us,’ which was my highest-charting single so far.”
Pollard ended up on stage at the Mae Wilson for that event and performed with Banks and fellow surprise guest Ty Hunter of the Hunter Brothers. She also met Joel Stewart, another CMT veteran and RSP co-founder, which led to recording the music video for “Love Letter” with him in Moose Jaw.
“And then a few months ago, Phil sent me a pitch for this song ‘Single at a Wedding’ and I decided to record it. So, yeah, very full circle,” she laughed.
Although her career is on the rise and life/business can get frantic, Pollard strives to balance music with other pursuits, both for personal growth and to stay mentally healthy. She said making time for family and friends is just as important to her as her music, and she is currently studying for a bachelor's degree in psychology through Athabasca University. One day, she might open a counselling business targeted at professional musicians.
“I’m definitely not at that level where people look at me and think my life is ‘so glamorous,’” she said, “but once you start meeting a lot of the big stars that you grew up loving and looking up to, you start to get a glimpse of that truth that, you know, everybody struggles.
“I had a really awesome psychology teacher in high school who know how to bring the ideas to life, so that’s probably where my love of psychology started. I’m also a lover of people, I’m such an extrovert. … I think a lot of people push a lot aside, and I think it’s more important to bring these things to light. With the music industry, it’s just so go-go-go and there’s all these expectations. Seeing my friends struggle, feeling myself struggle, that’s kind of where that idea came from.”
One of her favourite things about being a musician is performing live, meeting people, and giving back. She recently brought a young fan on stage with her at the Gateway Festival in Bengough, giving her an opportunity that Pollard noted would have thrilled her at that age.
“It’s so incredible to be able to give another person an experience that I would have loved,” she said. “If I was young and had like, McKenzie Porter, or … Megan Nash, when you go to their show, have them invite you up on stage, I know I would have just loved that.
“Having young kids come up to me and tell me that they like my song, or getting to go dance with them after the show, I think that’s probably the biggest highlight of performing for me.”
Don’t miss Pollard’s appearance at Homestand ’23 in Moose Jaw on Sep. 9, where she will start off the show at 5:30. Tickets are available through the River Street Promotions website at riverstreetpromotions.com.
