Jenna Rose had her whole life mapped out when enrolling at the Haliburton School of Art + Design (HSAD) in spring 2016, though her experiences at the Highlands’ creative hub inspired her to change her tune.
The 32-year-old released her seventh single There You Were Feb. 20 on YouTube, Spotify and Apple Music. With a country pop feel, Rose said the song is a story about breaking free from the chains of heartache to pave a new path forward.
“A lot of my songs have been based on this feeling of me not being able to get over an ex from a couple of years ago, but with this, I just felt tired and got to a place where I realized that thinking has got to go,” Rose said. “So, this is a little bit faster, more upbeat… about how I’m ready for a new story to happen.”
She penned the lyrics in mid-January after stumbling across a pre-recorded music sample from a Nashville-based producer. That tends to be her style, taking different sounds she’s heard and forming them into melodies in her mind.
Rose remembers doing just that on an almost daily basis nine years ago when she travelled from the Lake Kashagawigamog cabin she was staying at to HSAD. After graduating from Fleming College’s addictions and mental health counsellor program, she signed up for the expressive arts therapy course in Haliburton. She
envisioned a career helping people move past traumatic moments of their lives.
“My time in Haliburton was really pivotal for me, because I realized I didn’t have to do things in a conventional way… I’ve always been an artist, painting when I was younger, but I learned there were other avenues I could pursue to make a difference,” Rose said.
While only in the community for a few months, Rose said she made connections that remain strong to this day. She lived with a local family she still keeps in touch with, reminisces about mornings spent clutching a cup of coffee at Kosy Korner, and hazily recalls a few late nights getting to know the crowd at McKecks.
After growing up in a small town in Huron County, Haliburton always reminded her of home, she said.
Upon graduating, she moved to the city and got involved in acting. In 2022, she wrote a poetry book Crashing Waves, Meditations to Set Yourself Free. Dealing with depression through much of the COVID 19 pandemic, she took what she learned from her studies at HSAD to express her emotions with her words.
“After that, songwriting felt like the next natural step,” Rose said.
She’s already working on other material and is planning a trip to Nashville, hoping to build on her connections and
improve her sound.
Having worked with producer John Kennedy on her latest single – he’s known for his collaborations with
LeAnn Rimes, Faith Hill, Julianne Hough, and Billy Ray Cyrus – Rose already has experience dealing with a star of the industry. For now, she’s not putting much pressure on trying to “make it”, instead allowing herself to fully enjoy the ride.
“I’m still in the building phase, learning a lot about myself and my voice. This song marked the beginning of a new chapter… I want to get out and do some more live performing. I’d love to get up to Haliburton even to do that if I can, that would be awesome,” Rose said.
