Via Community News Service, a University of Vermont journalism internship for the Hardwick Gazette
PLAINFIELD — As a social worker and singer-songwriter, Jess O’Brien draws inspiration from her community, emphasizing the importance of shared human experience.
“The work of serving others in this time of great need feels very much in alignment with where I am as an artist right now,” O’Brien said.
In May 2025, O’Brien released her debut album, “These Days.” It’s a project shaped by personal growth and healing, she said.
O’Brien grew up in a small town in northern Michigan, singing from an early age. When she was 12, she saved up to buy her own guitar.
“I didn’t grow up in a musical family. I just kind of had to seek it out myself,” she said.
O’Brien began writing and performing her own music more actively after moving to Plainfield in 2017, when her sister-in-law and her family offered to share their land.
“I feel like there’s something mystical there in terms of how I’ve just connected to this place,” she said.
O’Brien said she senses a strong connection to small rural communities and draws inspiration from nature.
“It feels like the best of both worlds, because there are so many opportunities to play music and connect with musicians. But at the same time, I get to live that close to natural life that I like,” she said.
When she’s not playing at the Plainfield Opera House or recording a song, O’Brien works in social services with the Central Vermont Council on Aging. She also offers private meditation instruction and spiritual mentorship.
O’Brien said her music is inspired by the universal experience of suffering that comes with being human, which she sees in her work with clients.
She gathers ideas from her surrounding environment. Before the eight-month span of recording, mixing and mastering, O’Brien spent extensive time in and around her property.
“I mean, there’s so much just metaphor and gardening and nature that is absolutely part of fueling me creatively,” she said. “I find long walks, or even going for a run — there’s this kind of rhythm that you can create with your body that occupies a certain part of the mind, so that you can tap into a more creative place.”
“For me, it involves going deep inside and kind of touching into something really fundamental within yourself, be it a feeling or something that you’ve witnessed,” O’Brien said. “But ultimately, I really enjoy going inward to find that spark, and then the process of making that into a real, tangible song is its own thing.”
O’Brien collaborated with Vermont musician Paul Miller and award-winning producer and instrumentalist Colin McCaffery on the album. Though she was a novice in the studio, McCaffery and Miller said they were impressed with her storytelling and ability to collaborate while preserving her sound.
“When people have that caliber, that level of talent, it’s almost effortless,” McCaffery said. “My work is almost like not working. It really becomes play. I love the term ‘play music,’ because that’s what we kind of ended up doing.”
“With her, it was really fun to get a flow going, and really to have her produce, because it’s really empowering for the artist to have that control of the wheel,” he said.
Miller said he was moved by working with her.
“The first time she tracked ‘These Days,’ I remember crying because it was so beautiful. I was emotionally overwhelmed by her sound,” he said.
“There’s something about the sound of her voice that always made me feel good. It was just one of those things — if I was having a tough day or if I was pissed off about the world or whatever, something about the way she sang always made me feel better. I always felt it to be kind of a therapeutic experience for myself,” Miller said.
The album is available on major streaming platforms.
To celebrate its release, O’Brien, McCaffery and Miller performed the album in full at the Plainfield Opera House in October.
When asked about the performance, Miller said, “Jess was in her element.”