Conversations with Jean Watson

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jean Watson.  

Hi Jean, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start, maybe you can share some of your backstories with our readers.
I grew up in a musical family and started playing the violin when I was seven. As a child, I pictured myself growing up and having a career as a concert violinist and a teacher. I knew that music would play a very important role in my life. Well, music did end up playing a huge role in my life, but not exactly the way I thought it would! I studied violin performance in college and eventually got a master’s degree in violin performance. After college, I took several orchestral auditions, and much to my disappointment, I lost every single one! At the time, I couldn’t understand why all my hard work seemed to be wasted. Later in life, however, I realized that my goals for my life were so much smaller than God’s plans for me. 

During that time, I laid my musical dreams aside and decided to get married. I dedicated the next several years of my life to focusing on family and raising our four children, a decision I don’t regret. Over the years, we travelled to several states for my husband’s employment and eventually settled in Michigan, which initially was quite difficult for me. By that time, our marriage was struggling and unfortunately ended in divorce within a short time. 

And so, I found myself as a single mom in an unfamiliar place with no job skills other than playing the violin! I was really struggling financially and emotionally and became very depressed. I felt like I had missed my calling and destiny in life as a musician and as a person. It was at that lowest place in my life that I finally cried out to God for help. After I prayed a short prayer, the phone rang. I picked up the phone and a man answered and asked if my name was “Jean Watson” and if I played the violin. He explained that he had overheard my name mentioned in a restaurant the night before. He was the concertmaster of the local symphony, and he wanted to hear me play! My audition for that man eventually led to a permanent position playing in the orchestra – the very job I had fought so hard to attain so long ago. 

Later that same year, our landlord brought us a Christmas tree. As he dragged it into the house, he accidentally heard me singing Christmas carols on a recording I had made for a friend. He was so moved by the sound of my voice that he sat down and wept! Finally, I looked at me and said, “I don’t know what you’re doing with your life, but that’s what you SHOULD be doing.” That man gave me my rent money back and told me to make a CD. And so, I did. 

I gave that CD away to anyone who would listen and began to receive invitations to sing and speak in churches and coffeehouses, I went on to make many more recordings, and eventually, my music was heard in Europe. One day, I received an invitation to tour England, so I travelled to London with my violin on my back, dragging a seventy-pound keyboard. I traveled from town to town, village to village playing wherever people would listen – churches, coffeehouses, street corners, prisons, and drug rehab centers. Everywhere I went, I sang and told the story of how I had cried out to God, and my life was rapidly changing. The message was so simple – God is listening, and he cares about us! 

Over the years, I travelled back and forth to England and Scotland many times, performing and speaking. Eventually, I ended up in Ireland, and somehow, I knew I was “home”. The Irish people seemed to connect with my music and my story with great passion. The concerts and meetings would often go on for hours as people lined up to meet me and have me pray with them to receive the same hope I had been given. 

One night in a city called Dundalk, I man approached me at 1:00 AM after a meeting had finally ended. He said, “I’ve watched you pour yourself out to exhaustion for the Irish people. Would you like a bigger microphone?” “Yes!” I gasped. That man was the program director for United Christian Broadcasting Radio Ireland, and so began my weekly radio show in Ireland, which continues to the day, recorded right here in my home in Michigan. 

Since that time, I have travelled all over the world, still sharing my music, still telling my story. The story has gotten longer and even more beautiful over the years as I have seen so many people’s lives healed and changed the way mine was. Many of my encounters are documented in a book I wrote in 2018 called “Everything Can Change in Forty Days” published by Seedbed Publishers in Franklin, TN. 

Today, I continue to write and record my music in Nashville and have completed eleven albums featuring some of the world’s greatest musicians, including Michael W. Smith and Phil Keaggy. I have been asked to appear on CBN, TBN, and other media outlets around the globe. But some of my greatest joys have been found watching music bring hope in the darkest places like prisons and homeless shelters. 

I still reside in southwest Michigan (which I have grown to love!) and am happily remarried to a retired military chaplain and pastor. Together we have a blended family of seven children, nine grandchildren, two dogs, nine chickens, and a horse named “Lacey.” When I am not traveling, I am usually seen playing with grandchildren or riding a horse. 

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
As my story implies, my journey has not been an easy one. I have had lots of help along the way, but since my music, writing, and speaking are my greatest gifts, I often struggle to stay motivated. If I don’t do the work, it doesn’t get done! I am often my own publicist, booking agent, and manager, so there is a lot of work involved in planning events. There were also many years when I relied completely on my music and speaking for income. We lived truly “by faith” every month! Fortunately, I don’t have that financial stress anymore, but there is always a need for funds to be able to hire musicians and record. Music is an expensive business, and with the advent of music streaming, it has become very difficult to sell music. I have to rely on other streams of income or people donating to my ministry to keep going. 

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar, what can you tell them about what you do?
I am, first and foremost, a recording artist. My favorite place in the world is behind a microphone in the studio! I love being part of the creative process from start to finish – writing, arranging, singing, playing violin and keyboard, and playing a large role in the production process. Most of my music would be categorized as “Christian contemporary,” but I think it has a noticeable Celtic vibe to it. Stylistically, I would compare myself to “Celtic Woman” or “Enya.” 

I am also a reluctant writer. I never wanted to write, but because of my radio show in Ireland, writing has become a large part of my week. I also have written one published book and an unpublished manuscript. I speak at a lot of women’s conferences and events, so I am always writing for speaking events, as well. 

Someone once told me I was like a box of crayons. I have so many diverse gifts that it is hard to pin me down to one strength! I guess all my gifts work together when I am on stage, inspiring large audiences through my words and music. My concerts are like a journey of songs and stories, laughter and tears. Performing to me is sharing my heart and my soul. If I have not connected with the audience at some level, then I feel like I have missed the mark. 

We all have a different way of looking at and defining success. How do you define success?
Success to me is being exactly who we were made to be. 

It’s not about money, titles, or accomplishments. It’s about having the courage to live into the destiny we were born for. And that’s never easy because you have to stop looking at what everyone else is doing and keep your focus on who you are called to be and what you are called to do. 

Contact Info:

• Website: www.jeanwatson.com
• Instagram: @jeanwatsonmusic
• Facebook: Facebook.com/jeanwatsonmusic
• Youtube: @jeansviolin