Jessica has been singing for as long as she can remember but her first memory is when she started having singing lessons aged 7, and since then music and singing has been her passion. Jessica also learnt to play the piano and she later found that the keyboard helped her to write and compose original music.
She began by performing around her local area as a solo artist, performing with backing tracks of the songs popular at the time. A bit of busking experience was also gained.
At aged 13, she was a contestant on The Voice Kids UK where she reached the semi-finals of the show, her audition of Queen’s “Somebody to Love” video raking over 3 million views on YouTube. Throughout school she developed a passion for literature; writing stories and analysing pieces of works which is where she then started to compose her own set of lyrics, with one of the songs the band perform being one she wrote at the age of 13 titled “Guilty”. She also developed a passion for musical theatre after performing in her secondary school’s drama departments production of “Made In Dagenham”. Jessica also took part in regional West End shows such as Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and Jesus Christ Superstar. Because of these experiences, it lead to her deciding to train professionally in the arts.
From the ages of 16-18, she attended Arts Educational Schools in Chiswick where she studied Musical Theatre and Drama. Throughout her years there, Jessica was able to develop her skills in dance and acting as well as singing, which enables her today to feel confident and perform onstage. It also enabled in receiving a place on the Professional Dance and Musical Theatre degree course at The Urdang Academy in Islington, where she attended from the ages of 18-20, before finally graduating in 2024.
It was during those years at Urdang that Jessica began mixing her love of musical theatre with a bit of rock music. Jessica had been singing in bands before on various occasions. During the beginning of her second year, her and drummer Tyla Brooks sat down and decided to form a band with people their age which has lead to White Gates as you see them today.
Being surrounded by the boys in the band has helped advanced her knowledge of music massively, expanding her passion to the rock genre and being a big fan of bands including Paramore, Muse and Foo Fighters.
Being given the opportunity to perform with such talented people and to write and play their own original music is something Jessica does not take lightly, being grateful everyday for this incredible gift.
Jessica Richardson
