Jesse Eyeing a Return to Competition in Cheyenne on July 26-27
By: Justin Felisko
PUEBLO, Colo. – Colten Jesse may be staying busy busting a tune on his guitar and focusing on his growing music career lately, which includes an upcoming album release, but he has every intention to make a return to the bull riding arena later this year following offseason hip surgery.
Jesse told Kate Harrison during a special PBR Instagram Live alongside IMG Models’ Faith Lynch Wednesday morning that he recently got off his crutches and is hopeful of making his season debut on July 26-27 when the Unleash The Beast heads to Cheyenne, Wyoming.
The 23-year-old had a career year in 2020 despite a labral tear in his right hip, which he ultimately decided to get repaired following the World Finals. Jesse posted a career-high 16 qualified rides on the Unleash The Beast, and he opened the stretch run to the PBR World Finals with the first premier series win of his career in Bismarck, North Dakota, in August.
That victory, highlighted by a sensational 92.25-point winning ride on Sky Harbor, helped Jesse rise to No. 4 in the world standings and get to within 358.5 points of world No. 1 Jose Vitor Leme.
However, Jesse then missed two UTB events and returned to go 0-for-7 at four additional events as his hip injury worsened before shutting things down until the World Finals.
The time away from the arena has allowed Jesse to focus on one of his passions outside of the arena – songwriting and playing his guitar.
View this post on Instagram
Jesse first bought a guitar from a pawn shop when he was 18 years old, and he would often pull it out and string together some songs for his buddies traveling up and down the road.
“Nobody in my family really was very musically inclined, and I remember my grandma having a piano, and I remember playing on it,” Jesse said. “I could play stuff by ear or whatever. I remember doing that as a kid, but I never got real serious with it. I bought a guitar at a pawn shop when I was 18, and here I am.”
At first, Jesse was extremely shy about going public with his music. However, over time, his friends insisted he start posting his songs publicly on social media. He would post some videos here and there, but this past fall, he publicly released some of his full songs.
His first was “Marlboro Man.”
“I never really intended on starting it the way I have or even going this far into it,” Jesse said. “I wrote a song back in August/September and sent it to a buddy of mine, and he put it on Tiktok, and it just kind of took off. People were sending me messages saying, ‘You need to release this song.’ So I said, ‘Dang, I guess pretty soon.’ So I did, and everything has been falling into place. Everything has been rolling one after another, and I am knocking on some doors. I made some pretty big connections here recently, and I have been writing a lot of songs. I just love doing it, and I have the time to do it now, so I am taking advantage.”’
Jesse has released four songs on Apple Music – “Marlboro Man,” “Firewater,” “Take Me Back,” and his latest single, “Dryin’ Up.”
The Konowa, Oklahoma native enjoys not just playing music but the aspect of songwriting. It is a cathartic experience in many ways for him.
“Having a song that tells a story of someone’s past or could tell a story, that is kind of the music I like,” Jesse said. “The stuff that resonates with you or with a lot of people. All the people I listen to are honest songwriters, and that is what I fell in love with. Playing this guitar and being with the PBR traveling the country like we get to do, and meeting all the people we do, gives me the opportunity to tell some of those stories. It helps me get a lot of my feelings out because I am not really good at talking about any of that kind of stuff. I am not necessarily out to be a star or anything like that.
“I just enjoy playing, and if people want to listen, that makes it that much better.”
View this post on Instagram
Lynch agreed with Jesse about the importance of music connecting with a listener’s emotions.
“I definitely think that telling stories and portraying as many basic human emotions is very important,” Lynch said. “Being able to play music and do what you love is the best feeling in the world.”
Jesse is looking forward to making his season debut this summer, and ideally, he will make a second-half push and qualify for his fourth consecutive PBR World Finals.
Until then, though, Jesse will help bring people joy in a different way and has a series of gigs lined up in the coming months.
“Right now, I am playing a bunch of small-town gigs,” Jesse said. “You can find all of my music on Apple, iTunes, Spotify, YouTube, and I am looking to put out an album before I get back to the PBR.”
Follow Justin Felisko on Twitter @jfelisko
Photo courtesy of Andy Watson/Bull Stock Media
© 2021 PBR Inc. All rights reserved.