Jennifer Nettles life and biography

Jennifer Nettles is an American country music artist, best known as lead vocalist of the country duo Sugarland alongside Kristian Bush. Before Sugarland's inception, she also fronted Atlanta, Georgia-based bands called Soul Miner's Daughter and Jennifer Nettles Band. She also charted as a duet partner on the country version of rock band Bon Jovi's 2006 single "Who Says You Can't Go Home", a Number One hit on the Billboard charts.

Jennifer became hooked on music at an early age and filled her ears with gospel, rock and the blues. Live performances soon followed and by the age of 7, Jennifer was singing at church gatherings, school functions and at the local theater. When she graduated from high school as the 1992 homecoming princess, she was writing songs and earning rave reviews with the Coffee Country High School Jazz Band.

As a college student at Agnes Scott College, Jennifer was working as a camp counselor when she and Cory Jones, her high school friend who was now at the University of Georgia, started writing songs together. By 1995, they were playing full time and their band, Soul Miner's Daughter, was born.

Though much of her crafty songwriting and poetic expression merits a listen on their own, Nettles joins the royal company of a gifted and charismatic backing band. Drummer Brad Sikes puts forth the group's ever-changing and diverse rhythms. Scott Nicholson brings to life the magic of the piano's keys with stirring ebony-and-ivory passages. Wesley Lupold lays down the framework of the songs chord structures with bass. And Mike Cebulski presents an eclectic array of sounds and rhythms with his gift of percussion. Nettles has received airplay in major cities such as New York, Cleveland, Memphis, Atlanta, and throughout the Carolinas. Because of her songwriting magic and growing fan base, and those behind the scenes who devote their time toward helping market her music, Jennifer Nettles received the distinguished honor of being presented the Independent Musician of the Year award for 2001.

Nettles was influenced and inspired by a splendid mix of rock, blues, folk, and soul, and those influences reflect clearly in her work. She began her singing career in 1996 while performing with Soul Miner's Daughter in the Atlanta and Decatur music scene. A singer since the age of seven, Nettles certainly is not shy of showing her witty charm, and is not afraid of challenging herself to continually write and sing powerful, honest, soul-charging songs with engaging lyrical content. At times her tunes are filled with amazing richness and personality, while others leave the listener dazed and haunted. Referred to as the Jennifer Nettles Band, the group makes routine trips to such notable venues as the Variety Playhouse (Atlanta), the 40 Watt (Athens), and the Mercury Lounge (New York City). Her songs are full of poetic meaning, and the band plays with a sense of attitude, winning over her audiences each and every time, and making a crop of fresh new listeners happy as well. Her release Gravity: Drag Me Down appeared in February 2002.

Awards:

2009 - Grammy Award Best Country Performance By A Duo Or Group for "Stay"
2009 - Grammy Award Best Country Song for "Stay" (songwriter)
2009 - Academy of Country Music, Milestone award; Sugarland wins Vocal Duo of the Year
2009 - Country Music Association Awards, Sugarland wins Vocal Duo Of the Year

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