about Jean

"Remember the name. From Michigan, Jean Watson is a crystal-clear “singer- songwriter- musician” of refinement. A tunesmith of original light- classical folk-art who knows her Celt-gospel craft through and through."

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“She does not perform; she shares herself - heart and soul...the space around her felt hallowed.”

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A classically-trained singer, violinist, speaker, and writer, Jean Watson has touched the lives of thousands of listeners through her music and her compelling testimony of God’s healing grace. Based in Michigan, Jean maintains a full-time speaking and performing schedule all over the world in concert halls, churches, coffeehouses, prisons, and homeless shelters. She feels a particular calling to the nation of Ireland where she hosts a daily radio show on United Christian Broadcasting Radio Ireland. 

In addition to her radio show, Jean has appeared on The 700 Club, TBN's Praise The Lord, and other media outlets across the globe. In 2018, Jean completed her first book, “Everything Can Change in Forty Days” published by Seedbed Publishers. She is in high demand as a conference speaker and frequently ministers as a spokesperson for Prison Fellowship International. 

No stranger to contemporary Christian music, Jean recently released her twelth album produced by Grammy award winning producer, Jonathan Crone. She has recorded with some of Nashville’s finest musicians including Michael W. Smith, Phil Keaggy, Russ Taff, David Meece, Matt Slocum (Sixpence None The Richer), and Peter Furler of the Newsboys.

 Jean is honored to be married to Mark Roberts, a pastor and retired Air Force Chaplain. Together, they have a blended family of seven children, ten grandchildren, six chickens, two dogs and a horse named Lacey Mae! When she is not traveling, Jean enjoys spending time with her family and playing violin in the Kalamazoo Symphony.

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Christian artists face a puzzling conundrum in this day and age. They are often called upon to create an atmosphere of worship, an environment of adoration, a place of wonder where ordinary people can encounter the Living God. They are, by their very calling, endowed with unique creativity and spiritual sensitivity. And that is where the lines get a little blurry. A traditional artist’s bio is designed to make her look bigger than life. It should open with a snappy quote followed by a brief life history and a laundry list of significant accomplishments. There should be glowing accolades regarding her current standing among her peers and prognostications of future greatness, all designed to convince the reader that the artist in question is successful, talented, and in the case of “Christian” artists, considerably more spiritual than the average person occupying a pew on any given Sunday. Bottom line—a bio is supposed to elevate the artist to the semi-mythic level of a rock star. 

Jean Watson is not a rock star.  

“Galatians 2:20. That’s what I’m learning,” the soft-spoken Watson explains. “I am crucified with Christ. The ministry begins the moment my eyes open in the morning. Ministry is not just when I’m on stage or in the recording studio. Ministry happens on buses, on trains, on street corners. It’s 24-7. It’s about being available to be used whenever the Lord decides the time is right. It’s about learning to live a lifestyle of worship.”  

Still, Watson recognizes the tension involved in serving her God while also serving her occupation. She walks a fine line that involves the limelight. After all, the greatest singer, songwriter or instrumentalist in the world has little impact on the culture if no one hears the music. “The glitz and glamour of this industry can seduce you, if you’re not careful,” she admits. “It’s easy to say you are working for the Lord, but there is a tension between wanting to do music and wanting to do ministry. It is difficult to stay grounded. When I go to Nashville, I have to put my armor on. I have to to keep my heart in the right place. It’s so easy to press toward worldly success and notoriety and forget your first love.”  

Watson knows firsthand the great challenge of staying true to yourself, true to your calling, when the siren call of success is loud in your ears, and you seem to be able to hear everyone’s voice…except God’s.  

“I’ve never sounded like anyone else,” she muses, “and there is a great insecurity in that. When I started out, I was happy being authentically me, but somewhere on the journey I lost track. It’s easier to just try to fit into the mold, to press on toward worldly success and notoriety, than it is to embrace those qualities that make you unique. I had to ask God, ‘What is my purpose?’ And He answered, ‘Go back to your first call, your first love.’ I had a call on my life to be true to the voice God gave me. And that’s not just music. It’s also about how I share what God looks like and sounds like to me. That’s what is on my heart. Now, a dozen years into this journey, having much better opportunities and much higher levels of musical tools and skills, I’m better able to flesh out that vision. The music today sounds more like ‘me’ than ever before.” 

No, Jean Watson is not a rock star. She is a worship leader. Or a contemporary psalmist. Or whatever label you want to wrap around a singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist who crafts ethereal, soul-capturing contemporary hymns that can inhabit the playlist of a world music radio station as easily as a Sunday morning worship service. But it was not always so. Before she became a worship artist (or contemporary psalmist, or whatever), Watson, a classically-trained violinist, had her sights set on playing in a big city symphony. And she was well on her way, before laying it all down to become a wife and mother of four children. Life did not deal kindly with Watson. Some poor choices, a divorce and clinical depression nearly broke her spirit. At rock bottom, with nowhere else to turn, Watson cried out to God—and God answered. The end result is restoration beyond Watson’s wildest imaging.

Today, Jean plays violin with the Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra, hosts an internationally broadcast radio show, tours across the country and around the world both as a performing artist and as a sought-after speaker. She also recently released her eleventh CD and her first book entitled, "Everything Can Change In Forty Days." Published by Seedbed Publishers in Franklin, TN.. She is equally at home performing and speaking in concert halls and homeless shelters and is excited to share what she has learned on her long and sometimes rocky path of faith. "It is my heart that in my music and my words, people will hear the voice of God and be transformed by his love." 

 

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