Three green-eyed teens and sensational singers, Kelsey Carroll, Jeanna Upchurch, and Whitney Hennigan have been serenading audiences for the last seven years as a trio, and their jade colored eyes inspired their chic name, SweetWater Jade. Kelsey, Jeanna, and Whitney's trendy musical flair for modern country music is perfected by their unique voices and melodies coupled with their spunky personalities.
The humble beginnings for SweetWater Jade began in the Magnolia State, Mississippi. These three southern teens shared a love for performing and entertaining, a drive for dedication to long and hard work, and a belief that all things are possible through faith.
Honing their musical skills, Kelsey, Jeanna, and Whitney all sought private voice lessons. Interestingly enough, these three girls had never been acquainted and solely shared their love for music and the same voice teacher. From the suggestion of their voice teacher, all three teens decided to take their solo skills and unite as a harmonizing group to perform in a Mississippi State Fair competition. “Our goal was to perform in the group category at the fair. After the competition, we had so much fun singing as a group we decided to continue,” Kelsey says. Looking back on their first competition, this talented trio has now been blessed to be singing together for seven years. “We started as a group wanting to do competitions and then we started getting more opportunities to sing at places,” Kelsey says.
SweetWater Jade has showcased their talents from venues adorned with boots and spurs to bright lights and crowds with thousands of fans. SweetWater Jade has been the opening act for the Beach Boys, Sammy Kershaw, Dierks Bentley, Josh Turner, and Aaron Tippin. Kelsey, Jeanna, and Whitney have performed with Jerry Lee Lewis, Marty Stuart, The Williams Brothers, Carola, an international Swedish pop star, and alongside James Burton. They have performed at the Peavy Awards, where they were presented as Mississippi's Future Grammy Contenders, the Liberty Bowl, Mississippi Dixie National Rodeo, Statue of Liberty 4th of July Celebration, and the Grand Ole Opry Hotel in Nashville.
As Kelsey, Jeanna, and Whitney excelled in their music, the late Scott Mateer, a veteran Mississippi radio personality and Grammy nominated songwriter, unexpectedly blessed their lives. “One of our close friends, Scott Mateer once said, ‘God didn't give you this talent; He is just loaning you this talent of singing. He is loaning it to you long enough to make a difference for others,” Whitney says. Scott kindly provided counsel about the music industry and his words and actions inspired the girls of SweetWater Jade. “Our album will be dedicated to Scott Mateer to thank him for all of his hard work,” Kelsey says.
The girls of SweetWater Jade look to the past and see where their faith, family, and music mentors have guided them. “After all the experiences we've been through and to get this far, I believe that singing is what we were meant to do,” says Kelsey. This talented trio is ready to scale to new artistic heights and is prepared for the musical journey ahead. “We've listened to the advice of others knowing that everything falls into place at the end. Singing together as SweetWater Jade is what we long to do everyday,” says Jeanna with a smile.
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Opened for:
Beach Boys, Craig Morgan,
Derkes Bentley,
Sammy Kershaw,
Aaron Tippin and
Josh Turner
*sang at:
Grand Ole Opry Hotel Nashville,
balloon glow 05 and 06,
annual New Years Gala; peabody, Memphis,
statue of liberty 4th of july,
MS State Fair 01-06, CMA Music Festival 2007
