For musician Jess Novak, it’s already been a busy year. Fresh off the release of an EP titled WOMAN in December, Novak has since secured a monthly residency performing at the Moondog Lounge in Auburn in addition to a number of tour dates around New York State.
Most recently, she hosted her fourth annual F.I.R.E fest, a music and arts festival that is designed to highlight female artists who too often are underrepresented in the industry and at festivals. F.I.R.E stands for females inspire, rock, empower, which is somewhat of a mantra for the music veteran Novak who has been in the industry for over a decade.
“This event is giving women a space where they can perform and feel safe and respected and valued,” Novak said.
This year’s F.I.R.E fest was held on March 9th at ONCO Fermentations in Tully, NY and featured at least a dozen female performers spread across two separate stages. Artists included, Claire Byrne of the band Driftwood, Ashley Cox and Novak herself among many others.
This year’s festival brought in a record number of 200 attendees according to Novak.
“The feeling in the room was everything I’d hoped it would be.” Novak said. “I was just going over a recap of my predictions and hopes and we did it all. It was overwhelming in a great way.”
In previous years, the festival has been held at the Oswego Music Hall and Center for the Arts of Homer. Jess said she changed locations this year to create a more informal atmosphere.
“They are different energies,” Novak explained. “This event, so much of it is about the vendors and networking and talking and shouting and I wanted that to be allowed. I want the event to be energetic … to allow people to have fun.”
This year’s festival also added a new element: a final jam amongst all musicians involved. The jam included some of Novak’s original songs including, Counting on Love and Woman as well as some crowd-pleasing covers including, Chandelier by Sia and What’s Up? by 4 Non Blondes.
“I think it just added a whole other layer of what this festival is about, which is that women can do anything,” Novak said.
There was an equally large number of vendors from the CNY region in attendance including, ReAwakened Jewelry, Art by Laura Buys, RAS Jacobson Art, Phoenix Creations and many more.
Following the festival on the 9th, Novak hosted a mini-Fire fest on March 16th. Local musicians Amanda Rogers and Chloe Danes performed at Pink Rock Culture Co-Op in Syracuse.
And Novak is already planning another festival for September 28th at Lunkenheimer Brewing in Weedsport, NY.
“I think these smaller events are so great because they make it really accessible and you can directly support the artists,” Novak said. “People are interested now in supporting local and actually having an impact and these little festivals make it easy to make a big difference with a lot of people.”
While it might seem like organizing multiple music festivals is a full-time job, it really only scratches the surface of Novak’s own musical endeavors. Novak who sings as well as plays electric violin, guitar, piano and percussion has been a force on the music scene since she released her first album Bad Habit back in 2013.
Over the years, she has played hundreds of shows all over the country. In December, Novak released her newest EP WOMAN, marking her 13th release overall.
“The response to Woman is my favorite,” Novak said. “People hear the words and that’s what I was after. I get asked for it every show now and it makes me happy.”
In a previous interview Novak told NYS Music: “I felt like I needed to capture the spirit of the [F.I.R.E. Festival] in a song, specifically combining the words ‘fire’ and ‘woman.’ I did this song, but didn’t expect the timing to be so meaningful. I want to give faith and inspiration to women who are standing up for themselves and others all the time.”
WOMAN features two original songs in addition to a creative cover of Taylor Swift’s song Karma (Novak’s version boasts some impressive violin playing).
“Taylor Swift is on top of the world and I have so much fun playing this song,” Novak said. “I think it was a great way to incorporate something very familiar and make it totally my own.”
Fresh off the EP release, Novak is part of a residency at the Moondog Lounge in Auburn, where she will perform alongside fellow musician Ashley Cox. Every final Thursday of the month, you can catch the dynamic duo performing a fun mix of covers and originals
For a full list of tour dates, check out Novak’s website: here
Novak says what keeps her going all these years is her love for music.
“To me it doesn’t feel like making time, it feels like I get to do this today and I can’t wait to do this today,” she said. “I think that shift in attitude is really critical. I think people can fill their life with things that make them fulfilled and then everything gets easier.”
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