Jenna Cunningham aka Jenna Isn't Famous | Artist | Singer-songwriter

So, tell us a bit about who you are, and how you first got involved with Epiphany Space. Who inspires you? 

I had been writing music since I was in elementary school and always knew it was what I wanted to do. I moved to Los Angeles in the fall of 2017 and one of the first things I did my first week here, was Google “open mics in LA.” I called around and the first 5 places or so I called told me their open mic that was listed was no longer active. I began to feel discouraged, but then I rang up Epiphany Space. I spoke to Cortney on the phone and she told me the open mic was still very much active and happening that night, but that it was really more of a songwriter share, and asked if that was okay. I thought that was even cooler than an open mic and drove to Hollywood very excited. 

It was such a special space because contrary to some other open mics in LA, people really listened and cared for the other artists in the room. I got so inspired by the other artists who I am now lucky to call my friends: Cortney, Ben, Katie, Lloyd, Brandon, and Tim! It was such a lovely night because not only did you get to share the delicate art you’d been creating from your soul, you got to hear feedback in real-time about what resonated with the audience, as well as ways to make your song even better.

What creative people or creative works make you say, “I want to do that”?

Someone I’ve been really inspired by lately is an artist named Julia Wolf. She has this really dope half-sung, half-rapped flow in her music. Something I really love about her is that she has almost no love songs in her discography and has instead found unique subject matter that a lot of people don’t touch on, like how she feels around strangers. Especially as a songwriter who’s been single for 3 years, it’s really cool to know it’s possible to make amazing music that resonates with people, even if it’s not about the universal theme of love. 

What are some of the challenges you’ve faced along the way, and how did you deal with them? 



I think the biggest challenge is realizing your music success progresses at about a 4 times slower rate than we’d like it to. I’ve really had to work on my patience and letting go of control of external circumstances. I’ve gone through a couple of different producers, and when one didn’t work out it really tripped me up for a while. I’ve learned sometimes you just have to take a step back from the reins and let the universe work its magic. I now finally have a consistent producer I’ve done my last 3 songs with. My producer Jay actually found me. He heard one of my songs through the Spotify algorithm and reached out to me on Instagram with a really sweet message about my music. I liked him instantly because his message didn’t feel like a transaction, it was simply heartfelt. I checked out his stuff and we arranged a phone call and he ended up being the exact collaborator I needed. We communicate our musical ideas really well together!