Hey 19: Jessie Murph Conquers All While Touring ‘Like A Rock Band’

Jessie Murph is all of 19 years old and her rise to fame, like so many artists of her generation, was enhanced by the power of TikTok — but it’s her songwriting and her commitment to nearly non-stop touring that really sets her apart. As the Gen Z star graces the cover of Pollstar’s 2024 Impact: NextGen issue, her debut album, That Ain’t No Man That’s The Devil, drops this week (Sept. 6) on Columbia Records. The album, which features a deft amalgam of pop, country and hip-hop, boasts collaborations including “Dirty” with Teddy Swims, “High Road” with Koe Wetzel and the Top 10 country hit “Wild Ones” with Jelly Roll (which earned two MTV VMA noms). And she’s about to head back on the road with the announcement of the second leg of her “In The Sticks” North American headline tour, which is bringing in six-figure hauls.

Long before all the accolades, wildfire successes and touring, Murph was honing her talents in Athens, Alabama, a small city 13 miles from the Tennessee border. She was always something of a natural-born performer as both a competitive figure skater and cheerleader, but she had an introspective side that needed to find expression, having grown up in what’s she’s described as a musical but “chaotic” household.

“I remember feeling a lot of things when I was younger about a lot of things I was witnessing and I just needed to get it out,” Murph tells Pollstar. “I had a ukulele and a little keyboard in my room and I remember sitting down and just touching the keys and just venting in a musical form.”

In 2020, when she was 16 with the COVID-19 pandemic raging, Murph, like so many of her generation, turned to social media. She spent her free time posting covers to YouTube and TikTok including songs like “Habits (Stay High)” by Tove Lo, “Stay” by Post Malone and “Dreams” by Fleetwood Mac.

Enter Adam Alpert, CEO of Disruptor Records (which Alpert founded as a joint venture with Sony Music Entertainment) & Management who came across Murph’s posts on TikTok and was instantly drawn in by her powerhouse vocals. By the end of the year Murph had signed with Disruptor Management and by January 2021, had released her debut single, “Upgrade” via a record deal with Columbia.

“It was literally just her face singing to camera — and it was highlighting her voice and her tone more than anything because she wasn’t doing anything other than singing,” Alpert recalls of those early TikTok videos. “I thought that her voice and her song choice and just the charisma she had in her face singing those covers was incredible.”

Alpert who co-manages Murph with Senior Director of Disruptor Management Julie Leff (who Alpert notes has been “working on Jessie with me every step of the way”) immediately got in touch with Murph and her mother to set up a Zoom call.

An invitation to meet up at the Sony building in New York followed. “Her mother knew how talented she was and was trying to help Jessie find opportunities to follow her dreams,” Alpert, whose clients include The Chainsmokers, says. “Jessie was very reserved and just trying to take it all in as a 16-year-old. She didn’t really know how the industry works or how to go about developing as an artist. I said to myself, ‘I think I really need to meet these people in person.’ We met in the Sony building, which was closed because [of the pandemic] and we were the only people [there]. I’ll never forget that meeting.”

“What I came to learn,” Alpert continues, “was that while her voice was amazing, her songwriting was spectacular. And I could not believe that a 16-year-old was writing these songs. They were playing me these demos and I was blown away. People always say now that she writes like she’s had the experiences of a 30-year-old even though she’s only now still 19 years old. … I knew that I had to work with her.”

Reflecting on that meeting, Murph says, “I just remember being really excited and nervous and thinking ‘Damn, this is really cool.’ My mom was a big help [with] all of the meetings and being a good form of guidance. Adam scared me a little bit at first but in a good way. He’s just an intimidating person, but for good measure … I mean, he’s incredible at his job.”
Murph’s eclectic sound is reflected in the artists she grew up listening to including Adele, who she says is probably her “number one,” along with Amy Winehouse, Drake, Lady A, Chris Stapleton and Lauryn Hill.

“I don’t see myself ever staying in one sound-specific lane forever,” Murph says. “I think it’s ever changing but as of right now this new album that’s gonna come out, I’d say it’s a mix of soul, rap and country.”

Her songs have covered dark subject material such as addiction (“What Happened To Ryan”), sexual assault (“How Could You”) and mental health struggles (“Sobriety”), as well as plenty of tunes about heartbreak including her latest, “I Hope It Hurts.”

CAA’s Cheryl Paglierani, who represents Murph along with UTA’s Jeffrey Hasson, also heard her talent early on. “Jessie has such a powerful and unique voice that instantly draws you in, but I was more so enamored by her lyrics & the fact she was writing them herself at just 16 years old,” she says. “Every song I heard was more relatable than the last, making it clear very early on that she had the potential to become an artist who millions of people would connect with. Her combination of raw talent and relatability is what makes her such a special artist to me.”

Murph hadn’t done any proper concerts before being signed but she was eager to get on stage as soon as possible. Alpert says the team knew that while she had built a tremendous fanbase on the internet, they needed to “make that transition from internet to real live fans on the road.”

Once COVID restrictions were lifted, Murph’s team booked a few festival appearances and a support slot on Sasha Alex Sloan’s summer 2022 tour.

“I went to the first show [at Minneapolis’ First Avenue] and I was like, ‘OK, we’ve got work to do. This is gonna be a learning process — and this is why we’re doing this,’” Alpert says. “And then I went to the last show and I was so blown away by the progress that she had made as a performer over those 38 shows. I walked away from that tour being like ‘This tour accomplished exactly what it was supposed to.’ She got her sea legs. … She knew how to interact with the audience and the band and I felt like we were on our way.”

Murph — who is joined on tour by her brother Garrett Murph on guitar, drummer Yotam Weiss and guitarist Haven Cody — said she’s become “so much more comfortable on stage.” She explains she used to get “really petrified about the thought of talking on stage, almost like showing my personality on stage … But the singing part of it, I love and I could do it all day. … My favorite part is probably just getting to witness all the emotions in one room. Being connected to the fans online, it’s great. But it’s a whole different world when you’re in the room with them and you’re crying together. It’s just so magical. There’s no other feeling like it.”

While continuing to put out a run of singles, seemingly without pause, Murph announced her first North American headline tour slated for early 2023 and Alpert says it “went clean on the presale.” The rooms ranged from the 230-capacity DC9 in Washington, D.C. (grossing $3,680) to the 1,000-capacity Theatre of Living Arts in Philadelphia ($16,700).
Alpert explains that from the start, the team planned to tour Murph “like a rock band [by] spending a lot of time out on the road.”

“Our strategy with The Chainsmokers was to play as many shows as possible. And it worked out really well for them,” Alpert says. “And one of the bands that I grew up as a super fan of was Dave Matthews Band. And their strategy was to tour as much as humanly possible. Seeing Jessie’s fanbase that she had built on the internet come alive through these ticket sales [of her first tour] I knew that she was going to tour just like those artists. And since then, she has gone on a Europe tour, an Australia tour, another U.S. tour, a secondary and tertiary tour in the U.S. and every single show has sold out virtually. And she’s done countless festivals. … She’s not slowing down, the tickets are selling and she’s making real fans.”

Murph continued touring throughout 2023 and moving into bigger venues, with highlights including Terminal 5 in New York on Oct. 28, 2023, which sold 2,707 tickets and grossed $90,107.

So far Murph has sold more than 85,000 tickets in 2024, including sellouts at The Criterion in Oklahoma City (3,520 tickets sold and $106,300 grossed)and Andrew J. Brady Music Center in Cincinnati, Ohio (4,287 tickets; $141,527).

Her fanbase also continues growing online with 12.8 million monthly listeners on Spotify and 10.5 million followers on TikTok.

Hasson says, “We have strategically built Jessie as a headliner from day one and viewed her as a global artist. We started in small clubs and have sold out every show to date as we’ve continued to grow her fan base. We’ve not only focused on major markets with Jessie, but have gone deep into secondary and tertiary markets to go where her fans are and ultimately build her as a live artist. Jessie’s ability to headline and have huge festival moments across the globe at festivals like Lollapalooza, Hangout, Bonnaroo, and more have played into her massive growth.”

Paglierani adds that the goal is to build Murph into the arena headliner the team knows she can be — and each step is with that end goal in mind.

She explains, “We pay real attention to where her streaming audience lies to ensure we’re hitting markets where her fan base is strongest, in addition to building in the majors. Being conscientious of venue size and ticket pricing is so important. We’ve been intentional about not skipping any steps and as a result Jessie has blown out every tour we’ve put on sale.”

The second leg of the “In The Sticks” trek starts Oct. 17 in Tucson, Arizona, at the 1,200-capacity Rialto Theatre. The tour concludes Nov. 23 with a hometown show in Huntsville, Alabama at the 10,000-cap Von Braun Center.

“Jessie’s a true songwriter and performer, so there will be no shortage of new music and shows,” Hasson says. “We have big plans for larger scale headline touring, festivals, and more and to support Jessie’s artistry and growth to become the generational artist that she’s meant to be.”