Jetty Rae

Jetty Rae (born January 13, 1987) is an unsigned American indie folk singer-songwriter (also part of the group Pen Pals) whose career began in Kona, Hawaii, but now resides in Michigan.

Jetty Rae was born in Springfield, Oregon, on January 13, 1987.

She was raised by her parents, Tyvin and Kathleen, in an art-friendly family near the mountain town of Happy Camp, California, before moving for a short time to Colorado Springs, Colorado.

Her parents were missionaries which required them to move often before finally settling down in Charlevoix, Michigan, where Jetty Rae attended Charlevoix High School.

Jetty's mother started a theater group, called the Ragamuffins, in which Jetty held many roles.

Rae was initially introduced to songwriting through her affinity for poetry.

Following her graduation from high school, Rae applied to Juilliard but was not accepted.

Jetty Rae eventually attended the Youth With a Mission (YWAM) discipleship training school in Kona, Hawaii where she partook in 3 mission trips over two years to China, Fiji, and Australia respectively.

After graduating in 2008, Jetty Rae returned to Michigan where she met her husband, Jason Stewart (to whom she now refers as her "husband-ger").

The two initially met on Facebook and were married at the Iberostar Paraiso del Mar on the Riviera Maya outside Cancun, Mexico on December 21, 2008.

Jetty enjoys a love of both cooking and makeup, citing them as art forms themselves.

Jetty Rae has three children, a son named Beck and two daughters, Rowin and Jude.

A daughter, Ella, was stillborn; she keeps a blog entitled "The Singing Hitchhiker" about her.

Rae has a pug named Otis

In 2009, Rae was chosen to play at the grand opening of JetBlue's JFK Airport terminal as the grand prize winner of a competition from OurStage.

Notable appearances include Lilith Fair 2010, CMJ Music Festival, Ann Arbor Summer Festival, The Red Jacket Jamboree, and a number of CFA festivals including Agapefest, Big Ticket, and Fandana Festival.

Jetty Rae's music has been used by companies such as Microsoft, Petco, Amazon.com, and Ben and Jerry's to promote their brands.

She is known for "taking lyrics and adding a depth that few artists can.".

Jetty Rae's album Drowning in Grain peaked at No. 130 on the CMJ Top 200 Radio charts.

Sarah McLachlan and Terry McBride chose Rae as their featured local talent for Lilith Fair 2010 in Clarkston, Michigan, at the DTE Energy Music Theater.

Rae won this opportunity through OurStage.

Rae has been described as "a musician that has matured within every release, while still being true to herself."

Since becoming affiliated with NACA in 2011 Rae has been chosen as a showcasing artist four times: Northern Plains 2011, Mid-West 2012, Mid-America 2012, and Northern Plains 2013.

In 2015, Rae and fellow musician Heath McNease formed the group Pen Pals, subsequently touring and releasing albums under the moniker.

Rae is signed to SESAC (IPI #00607322083) and publishes her music under Jetty Rae LLC (IPI #00677859763).

In an AnnArbor.com news article, Rae's musical influences include Lauryn Hill, Brandi Carlile, and Eva Cassidy.

One reviewer compared her voice to those of Norah Jones and Amy Winehouse Rae's style has been compared to a female version of Jack Johnson, while others have noted her similarity to Jennifer Knapp.

In addition to those noted above, Rae cites her influences as Mariah Carey, Damien Rice and Whitney Houston.

Categorically, her music has been described as "typically good-natured acoustic pop".

Situationally, Rae cites her living in her renovated Airstream caravan as a major influence as well as "everyday hopes and heartbreak".

In May 2016 Jetty Rae and her family moved into an Airstream, trailer which they purchased on Craigslist for $3,000.00, renovated it, and began living a minimal lifestyle.

In a 2019 interview, Rae revealed that after 3 years on the road she intends to settle down in a conventional house.

Jetty Rae adopted the name of her paternal grandmother Jetty Rae Thom, who was a full-blooded Karuk Native American.

Thom was known for her nomadic lifestyle, her desire for the outdoors, and for battling mental illnesses, including schizophrenia.

Rae (musician) took her grandmother's namesake out of admiration and respect.

Rae, who considers herself a blue-collar musician, attributes the start of her musical career to the death of her grandfather, which prompted her to write her first original song "Sunshine".

She says she first began writing and playing music to process her feelings but now uses her music to "serve her listeners and audience".

Her first show was at Durty Jake's bar in Kona, Hawaii.

While there, she joined the rap and hip-hop group Soul Chronicle, and toured the Hawaiian Islands, as well as mainland China.

Her connection with Soul Chronicle led to her recording with another hip-hop group, The S.O.G. Crew.