Meet Jacob and Chelsea Hamilton of Wendlo in Kirkwood

Today we’d like to introduce you to Wendlo, the duo comprised of Jacob and Chelsea Hamilton.

Jacob and Chelsea, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
Jacob: I moved to Chelsea’s hometown of Anchorage, Alaska which is where we met. I was roommates for a while with her best friend’s brother, so we had a lot of the same friends. As we started getting to know each other, I heard rumors that she could sing, so I started trying to coax it out of her, but she was kind of shy at first. We talked about music we both liked and started getting together to play covers. Eventually, I convinced her to play at an open mic with me, and that was the first time we got responses from people that we had something special.

Chelsea: A few weeks later, Jacob asked me to sing with him at a wedding, which was the first time playing music together felt like a “real thing,” because it was our first time singing together in front of people we knew. As far as songwriting goes, I was inspired to write from a young age listening to songwriters like Ingrid Michaelson and Leslie Feist. I learned guitar so I could write songs. Jacob was a bit older when he started writing songs but I think it came pretty naturally to him as well.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Chelsea:  I always hesitate to say things are “hard” because I know that people overcome much harder challenges than I probably ever will. But I will say that writing, recording, and playing music isn’t just a walk in the park. There’s always pressure from every angle (family, friends, culture) and it’s easy to get in your head and question the validity of your own work.  Being secure and remembering to not trap ourselves in comparison is a big challenge for us, and probably for most artists.

So, as you know, we’re impressed with Wendlo – tell our readers more, for example, what you’re most proud of and what sets you apart from others.
Chelsea:  We’ve tried to cultivate a sound that belongs to us—one we can say is our own.  We look at ourselves often and question if we’re trying to be someone else.  Even though we are constantly self-evaluating and adjusting our methods, we’re really proud to already have some sense of who we are.

So, what’s next? Any big plans?
Jacob: Chelsea and I are constantly writing. Some times are more prolific than others, but we’re always chipping away at the next album or project or whatever.  We’ve found that diligence is rewarded, so we strive to always be moving forward creatively. We’re going to release as much music as we can this year and keep playing shows whenever and wherever we can.