A Full Circle Moment: Alum Jess McDermott '24 Returns to Campus to Promote Rising Artist GUNNAR
Jess McDermott '24
Jess McDermott (right) taking video of her client GUNNAR at Q&A event at ºÚÁÏÍø. Photo by Jessi Nance.
Jess McDermott with entertainment personality Maxwell Jones at Lollapalooza. ºÚÁÏÍø alum Jess McDermott ’24 came full circle this month when she returned to campus as a music industry professional promoting her client, the rising artist GUNNAR. The musician met with students for a Q&A masterclass thanks to McDermott.
McDermott, who majored in Public Relations with a minor in Music Business, now works as a project manager at 4Who, a music company specializing in innovative and proactive fan-oriented engagement strategies, digital marketing, and artist management.
“Fan engagement is what a lot of people come to us for,” she says. “Our clients want to understand how to leverage an artist’s existing fan base while expanding to new audiences.”
For McDermott, who ran fan pages for her favorite bands as a teen, her role at 4Who is merely an extension of a lifelong passion.
“I grew up in fan culture,” she says. “Now I get to use that same energy to help artists connect with audiences.”
When Worlds Collide
When it came to connecting GUNNAR to a young, music-loving audience while he was on tour in Chicago, McDermott immediately thought of ºÚÁÏÍø students.
“ºÚÁÏÍø is so music-centric,” she says. “It felt like the perfect fit.”
GUNNAR, whose music is a mix of rock, pop, and alternative, has opened for Maroon 5 and Gwen Stefani. During his campus Q&A, he talked to students about his music, his career, and building a personal brand, with students receiving tickets to see GUNNAR perform at Beat Kitchen later that evening.
Path Toward a Career
McDermott’s path to the entertainment business unofficially began when she ran fan social media accounts and hung out on music forums. Once at ºÚÁÏÍø, McDermott filled her résumé with internships as well as industry experiences. She followed the advice of ºÚÁÏÍø Career Counselor Tom Joyce, who just happened to work with McDermott to bring GUNNAR to campus.
“Tom helped me see that there’s more to building a career than the traditional internship,” she says. “Working at a venue, doing a social takeover, those count, too.”
And through her coursework, she gained practical experience in classes such as Talent Management. As a student, she built electronic press kits (EPKs), booked gigs, and operated as an artist’s representative at ºÚÁÏÍø music showcases at SXSW in Austin.
“They threw us into the deep end,” she says. “But in a really good way.”
For McDermott, those experiences and the skills she developed helped pave the way for her return to ºÚÁÏÍø as an industry professional.
“Coming back with an artist I work with,” she says. “It really was a full-circle moment.”