Jesse Norell Music

And now we get right back to the rocking with my son's favorite song, "Chicky and Piggy." We used to have this bouncy chair with a toy chicken and a pig attached to it. I would smash them together and my infant son would laugh. I was telling my son all about their battles when my wife walked in and was like "what's with all the violence?" to which I responded, "actually umm... It's a MATH BATTLE!" And the song was born.

My son has a cameo in the song (see if you can hear it!) but we wrote most of the verses together last summer while swinging on some playground swings. I hope you love it as much as we do!

Go listen to Riffin' Griffin and save the songs on streaming!

Aorta Borealis is on Bandcamp as of yesterday and today is Bandcamp Friday (they don't take a cut today)! If you asked me to do this a year ago... You're welcome! 😆

I wrote this album as a way to share my story, raise awareness for the Down Syndrome community and talk about kids with heart defects and other health issues. If you want to support this sort of thing or just like indie rock, go give it a purchase. Thanks!

Aorta Borealis turns ONE on March 4th. Wow. Is it overstating to say it's my greatest achievement as a human being? Hmm.

I have a few things planned for the next month to celebrate!

For starters, here's a great way to listen to the album that I used for pre-release promo. I just made it public. There's a loop of night sky videos for your viewing enjoyment. For an unlisted video to have over 50 hours of watch time, that's pretty good! Now you have access too! If you haven't listened to this yet, please let me know if you like it. If you hate it, please be as detailed as possible in the comments below.

Aorta Borealis - Full Album 0:00 - What to Tell You4:27 - Together8:48 - Lullaby for the Frail11:55 - Run the Long Race16:09 - How It Feels to Be Something On21:36 - Recovery25:59 - Dar...

So excited to play 2 sets at the Foremost today!

Jesse Norell Music LIVE TODAY at 1pm - 1/28

Jesse Norell is an indie rock singer-songwriter and guitar teacher from Minneapolis, MN. After playing in bands until 2007, Jesse stopped writing songs and playing shows until his daughter, Alyssa, came along. His debut solo LP “Aorta Borealis” is his return to making music. It’s about his journey as Alyssa’s dad through two heart surgeries, finding wellness after a crisis, and the joy of being loved by someone with Trisomy 21. The album is divided in half, starting with a darker, story-driven set of songs followed by a handful of more celebratory ones.

Jesse’s songs have a cinematic feel, with melodic, and often layered vocals. On “Aorta Borealis” the guitars, bass, drums, keys and strings swell and recede to help the listener feel significance of each step along the journey, calling to mind Jesse’s influences, like Death Cab for Cutie, Pedro the Lion, Mute Math, and Sunny Day Real Estate (the latter of which wrote the lone cover song on the album). The songs sweep from melancholic ballads to riffy punk rock and finally to contented, joyous pop anthems, all while keeping the lyrics front and center. Everything comes out of a desire to connect; to be a soundtrack for those with a front row seat to hardship, and to show that the darker the story, the more appreciative we are when the light returns.

https://jessenorell.com/

Playing 2 sets at the Foremost in Owatonna this Saturday afternoon (1-3pm). I'll be playing all of Aorta Borealis, some covers, and possibly do some silly stuff before it's all done. Come hang out!
https://facebook.com/events/s/music-jesse-norell/1634435753682139/

Aorta Borealis album review from Tracks Magazine in Switzerland! Cool!

JESSE NORELL Aorta Borealis - Tracks Magazin JESSE NORELL Aorta Borealis Eigenvertrieb «Aorta Borealis» ist die Geschichte eines Vaters und seiner Tochter. Jesse Norells Tochter Alyssa kam mit dem Down-Syndrom (Trisomie 21) [...]

This is the kind of review I dreamed about when making this album. There aren't many writers who are willing to take a deep dive into a 53-minute record these days. Thank you to Andy Ellis for giving this so much time and undivided attention. Here's part of what he said:

"With Aorta Borealis, Norell uses the album to do what albums are supposed to do — take you on an unforgettable journey. Yes, it requires your full attention. But if you are willing, then you will be greatly rewarded."

Full review below!

https://melodicnoisemedia.com/reviews/jesse-norell-aorta-borealis-review

TV appearance #4 yesterday talking about Aorta Borealis! What I hope you take away from all the media attention is this: this album is different and worth your time and consideration. If you like music and you like concerts, (Minnesotans) please check your calendar and consider coming to the album release concert at the Parkway Friday night! I get that everybody has different musical tastes, but the story and topics I dive into are important. People care about it because it's an OTHER-CENTERED album. More info in the comments!
Love, Jesse



https://www.fox9.com/news/father-holds-concert-to-teach-about-children-with-down-syndrome

Father holds concert to teach about children with Down Syndrome The six strings on Jesse Norell’s Guild Guitar have played a lot of music, but none of it is more meaningful than the tunes he’ll perform in concert on Friday night at the Parkway Theater in Minneapolis.

Spent 3+ hours talking with these wonderful gentlemen and now the interview is up! At the beginning of the episode, I talk about what their podcast means to me and how I had been dreaming of this episode existing for at least a year. It's a deep dive into each track on my record. Making something like this is really labor intensive for Trevor and Shane at and I'm so thankful they were willing to put in that time.

The end result is a guidebook to Aorta Borealis, complete with the perfect audio clip at the right moment so you always know what we're referring to. It's so cool and I hope you find it enjoyable! It was nice to not be the only one getting choked up this time!

Link in their bio or search for "Album Divers" wherever you get your podcasts.

Don't forget - album release party is coming up soon on 4/8 in Minneapolis! Come celebrate!
https://linktr.ee/jessenorell

Monday 3.21 is World Down Syndrome Day! Perfect timing... Mostly Minnesota Music just premiered the new music video for my song "You Are!" Parents from multiple countries sent me videos to celebrate their kids with DS and the result is SO MUCH JOY! Please start sharing now with the hashtag ! On Monday, you can wear as a way to celebrate as well!

Down syndrome isn't a problem that needs to be "fixed," we just need to fix people's misperception of it. Please help me educate and spread the word!

While you're at it, please subscribe to my YouTube channel. If I hit 1000 subscribers it will make it a lot easier to keep making stuff like this. Thanks!
https://mostlyminnesota.com/2022/03/18/mn-music-video-premiere-you-are-by-jesse-norell/

MN Music Video Premiere: You Are by Jesse Norell We are pleased to premiere the video for You Are by Jesse Norell. It is off his recently released album, Aorta Borealis, which is raising Down syndrome awareness. The song is great, the video is ch…

Welp, I think this is as famous as I get! Good Morning America seemingly just declared me "Best Dad Ever." 🤷‍♂️😂 Here's the ABC News interview:
https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Family/video/dad-makes-music-album-inspired-daughters-health-journey-83460897?fbclid=IwAR14aghb2BflSUy1xmxzOKidZkE_iXGUa3flC1qnjGrynhmRDe-L1920OdE

If you're interested, please consider:

Buying a ticket for the April 8 concert in Minneapolis:
https://theparkwaytheater.com/.../jesse-norell-and-friends
Being my first Patreon supporter:
https://www.patreon.com/jessenorell
Or buying the brand new album "Aorta Borealis" on CD:
https://jessenorell.com/store

With love,
Best Dad Ever

Video Dad makes music album inspired by daughter’s health journey Musician Jesse Norell created “Aorta Borealis,” an album inspired by his 6-year-old daughter Alyssa’s medical struggles, as a way to express his feelings.

New album review! "The mood varies from anguished to celebratory, but what are consistent are the sweetness of his voice, the tunefulness of the songs, and the colorful brilliance of the production. Aorta Borealis will have you dancing around the room and singing along when it doesn’t have you crying on the couch. Highly recommended to all libraries."

The reviewer also refers to the journey of having a child go through multiple heart surgeries as "An emotional odyssey" and I love that!
For the full review head to CDhotlist, a website that reviews CDs for local librarians to consider stocking alongside their books!

Thanks to Krista Vilinskis for getting people to listen and respond!

I have personally put thousands of hours and dollars into the Aorta Borealis project because I want to raise Down syndrome awareness and share my story with Alyssa. My goal is to break even and if you’d like to help me reach that goal, please consider buying a ticket to the April 8 concert at the Parkway Theater (even if you give it away), buying a CD, or supporting me on P@treon. You can do all those things by clicking my picture and clicking on the linck in my bio. If you can’t do any of that right now, I’d take an encouraging word!

I think a lot of people would like to see me make more music but it’s a tricky time for musicians when all the revenue goes to the CEOs of streaming services.

Musicians are basically all buskers right now with their guitar cases open, hoping for generous people to go by.

Love you all!
Jesse

New podcast interview! This one felt really concise, in a good way!

It was with Doctor Kishore Vellody. Kishore has a brother with Down syndrome, he is the Medical Director for the Down Syndrome Center of Western Pennsylvania, was the President of the National Down Syndrome Congress, and runs a podcast that those in the DS community count on to provide encouragement and medical advice. His voice and wisdom are highly regarded and I was so honored to be on his show!

Here is what he said about Aorta Borealis:
“As someone who has walked this road with thousands of families in my career, this album beautifully captures and chronicles the raw emotions that parents experience from initial fears to eventual pure love. I hope it brings reassurance and hope to those on the journey now and in the future.”

Enjoy the podcast episode and thank you to Kishore! Available wherever you get your podcasts (search for Down Syndrome Center Podcast).

https://downsyndromecenter.libsyn.com/124-aorta-borealis

Down Syndrome Center Podcast: #124 - Aorta Borealis Singer and songwriter Jesse Norell joined Dr. Vellody on the podcast to share about his passion for music and how his new album tells about his journey with his daughter.  More information about the album can be found at:  And be sure to check out this news story on the album: Please reach...

Made my second TV appearance on Friday. It came about because I did an interview with Children's Hospital MN for their website. Then their PR department contacted me and asked if I wanted more press. Since I have such positive things to say about them, teaming up to spread the love makes sense! They said, "How about Fox9?" and I said "That's the political one, right?" and they said "Nope" so I was like "Well ok!"

I didn't know what parts of my house would be on TV do I tried to pick everything up (so many toys). Keri was a little embarrassed about our fridge, but I think everybody's fridge looks like that.

I picked Alyssa up from school and then Cole Heath from Children's PR came over, followed by reporter Tim Blotz and his camera guy, Doug. I'm glad I didn't know Tim had an Emmy or anything because we just talked like friends about our mutual love for music rather than me being star struck or whatever. We did our interview in the kitchen and everybody was very complimentary about how many sound bites I was able to churn out (I'm starting to learn how these things work).

Then the time for Alyssa's part came and she was not sure about all these people. She thought the guitar was too loud and wanted no part of it at first. Then Cole and Tim left the room and she eventually started singing along with her favorite songs. She HAD to have her stuffed animal, Bingo though. They showed on TV the moment her sadness started to lift and she cracked her first smile. That is probably my favorite part!

Tim and Doug went to Children's to interview Dr. Moga, Alyssa's heart surgeon, but he got tied up with a patient so that's why you see Tim talking in front of the hospital sign. They didn't go there just for that sign!

It has been a wild 2022 so far. Aorta Borealis was streamed by 52 people on Spotify over the weekend. Were you one of them? It's a pretty moving album, IMO. I have loved hearing your experiences with it so far... keep them coming!

https://www.fox9.com/news/father-of-daughter-with-down-syndrome-releases-awareness-album

Father of daughter with Down Syndrome releases awareness album The father of a girl with Down Syndrome has recorded and released an album to tell her story.

The lyrics on Aorta Borealis (out today) are mine and it’s my story with my family, but I don’t think it SOUNDS like it should have my name on the cover. I debated using a band name to better describe the sound… what band name would you have given this project?

Suffice to say, I did not do this on my own. I want to thank Clint Philips for jumping on board IMMEDIATELY to play bass. He had a “whatever you need” mindset all the way through. During a very isolated time he did everything he could to make me feel like I wasn’t all alone is this massive undertaking of making a concept record. He submitted ideas and happily workshopped everything until it was exactly what each song needed. Thank you, Clint. What an amazing friend you have been to me for decades now.

Thank you to Steve Goold for coming on board next. Instead of saying, “I’m too busy with Sara Bareilles and Cory Wong for people with 14 IG followers” he said, “This needs to exist. Can I play on this for free?” When his life got turned upside down during the pandemic, he gave his all and submitted 2-3 superb takes on every song. He never got off the click which saved me HOURS as I cut my teeth learning multi-track audio editing. Props to AJ Mather for his terrific drum engineering skills too. I’m jealous that I couldn’t be in the room with you guys.

Thank you to Ed Harper for writing and arranging string parts, playing cello, and to your wife Katherine Sullivan for playing viola and violin. I’m so glad I met them in Singapore and we were able to reconnect for this project. They had a toddler at home so finding quiet times to record was a lot to ask. Ed was also finishing his doctorate in music on top of everything that was happening in the world. I’ve always wanted to make this kind of a record and I could not have done it without Ed and Katherine. Having a string quartet behind your song is like a hang-glider having the wind at their back.

Thank you Chris Mason for jumping on board to play keys… which is not even his main thing! You’d NEVER know. He added a level of polish and gave me options I never would have thought of. He has 4 gazillion kids now, writes, records, and releases at least 59 songs every day, while holding down a full time, bigtime job. And he usually had tracks for me within a day of me asking for them. UNREAL. When Chris was a teen we did a little musical mentorship thing, which was pretty bogus because Chris already had his stuff together by the time I met him. I’m so proud of who this man has become.

Thank you Chris Carr for mixing and mastering this record with such skill, patience and attention to detail. We exchanged hundreds of thousands of words and deliberated about every second of this 53-minute record. He handled my obsession over and attention to every tiny detail without ever getting frustrated. You would be hard pressed to find a more patient individual than Chris Carr. On top of his communication skills he’s just really good at what he does and he CARES about the final product. Thank you Jamie Ruggaber for introducing me and for being a huge support along the way.

Once I finally had a clue about how to record music, I still had no idea how to make artwork for print and CDs. Thanks to Sama Sandy for coming up with the original cover design, Michelangelo for iterating on that when Sama’s laptop crashed, and Dwight Lion for doing all the other CD artwork; saving the day and recreating stuff when deadlines were tight and things fell apart.

Most of all, thank you Keri Norell for supporting me on this overly-ambitious idea for telling our family’s story (in addition to singing some key BGVs on the album). I needed to get lost in this to survive the last two years and that hasn’t always been easy for you. Teaching middle schoolers via Zoom while I edited the album in the same tiny room and ran in and out to help the kids with distance learning? Not ideal. Your support has meant the world to me. You are my person. I love you so much.

I could go on and on, but I also just want to mention how much I appreciate the support of Rick Russie, Jack Cochran, Kyle Bonderson, Matt Norell, Troy Hemmer, Bridget Schwefel, Kurt Nistler, Zach Barrett, Greg Membrez, Eric Nehring, Carissa Carroll, Krista Vilinskis, Dan Kral, Nathan Bettger, Mike Gilmour, Mark Arend, Phil Carlson, John Sormer, Stephanie Krueger, Jeremy and Jessie Seeman, Jason Acosta, Becky Waller Bausman, Robert Pickering, Andrew Norell, Debora Fuentes, Mark Arend, Wendell and Faith Friest, Jane Norell, Caiden Pearson, Mickele Williams, Ben and Stephanie Mangrich, the Sandau Family, Andrew Luers, Paul and Karen Norell, Fae and Jim Holin, the Fenton Family, and a whole bunch of other people. You are incredible. This does not exist without you and I’m so glad it exists.

It's live! Aorta Borealis can now live and breathe in the outside world. Not just in my head. Not in demo form. Not stuck on my hard drive... it really lives. It is now EVERYWHERE and it's out of my hands. If you've been along on this ride with me from the beginning or a brand new friend, THANK YOU. If this music makes an impact on you, I'd love to hear about it! I shared my story (alongside Alyssa) and I welcome yours.

With love and gratitude,
Jesse

Listen at jessenorell.com or wherever you stream your music. Just do me a favor and listen to it in order. 😛

Channel 9 News comes to my house tomorrow for an interview with Alyssa and me! Stay tuned!

Children's Hospital MN put Alyssa's story on their blog recently!
https://www.childrensmn.org/2022/02/28/one-familys-health-journey-played-music/

JustSomeDads Podcast did an interview with me that just dropped. It was a wonderful time!
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/aorta-borealis-the-story-of-jesse-alyssa-norell/id1532826631?i=1000552415310

Would you mind taking a minute to pre-save this album coming out Friday? It apparently helps other people to find it and stream it! Thanks!
https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/jessenorell/aorta-borealis

Aorta Borealis by Jesse Norell Stream and Pre-save Aorta Borealis - Distributed by DistroKid

89.3fm The Current just premiered my video for The Lucky Few! It's a fully animated video wherein my daughter saves the city from a robot invasion, which happens in the middle of family band practice. GO. WATCH. IT! It's really fun!

If you liked it or it made you laugh, leave a comment! More importantly, because we need to let others know how lucky those of us are who have people with in our lives! Don't let the algorithm bury this one, friends!
Full album out in two weeks!

This is the first time I've been able to show off any of the 12 songs from Aorta Borealis publicly, besides "Together" a year ago. This is not just another internet thing... it's the coolest video I've ever made!

https://www.thecurrent.org/feature/2022/02/18/friday-five-minnesotaconnected-music-videos-to-peep-this-week

Friday Five: New Minnesota music videos to peep Bloodline, S. Carey, Tragic Hands, and Jesse Norell have new clips to check out - and as a special bonus, a video created by a New York social justice organization that was inspired by an Ashley DuBose song.

The lyric video for my song "Together" just went live on The Sound Café Magazine's website!
https://www.thesoundcafe.com/post/jesse-norell-s-new-album-aorta-borealis-set-for-release

The inspiration for the video is this: there was a "fight or flight" moment that happened for me when I heard Alyssa had Down syndrome and a heart defect. Our family had just moved from overseas and our housing situation was in flux. I so badly wanted relief from the chaos in my life and Alyssa's diagnosis sure seemed to indicate that relief was a long ways off.

I had to make a conscious decision to put my head down and fight the battles that were in front of me. I wasn't going to make it through by accident, I had to mentally prepare for what might lie ahead. I felt like I CHOSE to fight for Alyssa. I tried to gather my determination, not just let things happen to me, which for me was a subtle, yet powerful distinction.

The video focuses on boxers training. It brings a physicality to the emotional battles we wage within ourselves. It's a metaphor... the opponent is not another person and thus nobody punches anybody else in the video.

If any of this resonates with you, I'd love to hear about it!

Jesse Norell's New Album 'Aorta Borealis' Set For Release Jesse Norell is an indie rock singer-songwriter and guitar teacher from Minneapolis, MN. After playing in bands until 2007, Jesse stopped writing songs and playing shows until his daughter, Alyssa, came along. His debut solo LP “Aorta Borealis” is his return to making music. It’s about his jou...

Jesse Norell Music updated their website address.

ABC News/Good Morning America reached out to me this week as they apparently caught wind of the WCCO TV News feature from a few weeks ago. They asked for an interview with me and Alyssa in the coming weeks! I can't wait for more people to hear Alyssa's story and connect with people across the country!

In addition, tickets for the Aorta Borealis album release show on Friday, April 8th in Minneapolis just went live this morning! If you're interested in coming, don't sleep on getting tickets. I don't know what the future holds, but tickets could get scarce at some point. It's not just any concert… It's an evening FIFTEEN YEARS in the making. Can you make it? Do you know someone who would want to attend?

Head to the Parkway website for all the details including safety policies!
https://theparkwaytheater.com/all-events/jesse-norell-and-friends

Oh, Aorta Borealis hits streaming services exactly one month from today on 3.4.22. Things are getting WILD. Please join me for the ride!

Jesse Norell 'Aorta Borealis' Album Release with special guests, Ben Noble & Chris Mason Three bands come together for a singular night of important music-making. Minneapolis father and indie rocker Jesse Norell sings about his daughter's struggle to survive heart surgeries and the joys of Down Syndrome on his new album Aorta Borealis . Ethereal songwriter Ben Noble and folk-pop ar

Liz Collin from WCCO TV messaged me Thursday morning and I was on the news by 6pm that night. What a whirlwind of a day!

Here's the link to the full news segment!
https://minnesota.cbslocal.com/2022/01/20/aorta-borealis-jesse-norell-down-syndrome/

I asked if they would wait until March 4th when everyone can hear the full Aorta Borealis album and she told me the producers said "We need good news TODAY." I'm so grateful that there are people who understand that my story is GOOD NEWS, in spite of the fact that I take a deep dive into the darkest parts of it. If you are also someone who "gets it," thank you.

Jesse Norell Music Send a message to learn more

Big update! Please take a moment to read, like and comment, and share so more people see it. Thanks!

Here are the bullet points:
Today I launched a Patreon page!
https://www.patreon.com/jessenorell
More on that below.

On 3.4.22, my album "Aorta Borealis" will be available worldwide. Patreon members will have access to listen to the whole thing RIGHT NOW! I have made four music videos that I'll be providing early access to in the coming days as well.

I made a short trailer for the album it that features clips of five of the songs and it just went public. I would love to hear what you think!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZaOyblVD5J4

For more info on what I'm about and why in the world you'd want to support me, please read on!

Welcome, Intro, and Patreon Benefits!

"The world doesn't need another random song."

This line of thinking led me to stop writing songs for 15 years. Then my daughter Alyssa was born. She survived two heart surgeries. She changed my perception about Down Syndrome and people with special needs. She taught me so much about finding joy in dark and unexpected places. She inspired me to write again.

The music and video content I want to make is the kind that is both 100% authentic to me and also has the possibility to help someone else. I spent two years planning, writing, and recording an album called "Aorta Borealis," which is all about my journey with my daughter through both darkness and joy.

When we tell our stories, especially via the medium of music and lyrics, we connect in powerful, inexplicable ways. I have seen countless people online express fear and uncertainty when they find out they're having a child who is atypical or unexpected in some way. I'm convinced "Aorta Borealis" can be a means of catharsis and comfort.

In the future, I hope to make music that promotes positive social change through telling my own stories and possibly the stories of others. But I can't do it without your support. Making quality music takes a lot of time and money and I need to be responsible to my family. In 2022 I'll be gauging the level of interest, impact and engagement surrounding what I'm doing. Full transparency... what happens in the future will be directly tied to that.

Musicians give away their music for pennies on streaming services now so being a musician requires generous people who "get it." If you're one of those people or you're considering joining, THANK YOU. In return you will receive an advanced look at what I'm working on, exclusive behind-the-scenes posts and videos, exclusive song performances and more!

2022 is going to be a wild ride! I hope you will come along on this journey with me. And maybe you can tell a friend!

Love and thanks,
Jesse

Jesse Norell - Aorta Borealis [Official Teaser] Aorta Borealis - Out on March 4th, 2022 on all streaming platforms!Album Release Show - April 8th, 2022with Ben Noble and Chris Masonat The Parkway Theater, ...