Country Star Jo Dee Messina Played Massachusetts Clubs At Age 14

Award-winning country music performer Jo Dee Messina has had ups and downs throughout her career. Few have worked harder to be successful than she has.

In addition to two Grammy Award nominations, Messina has won an Academy of Country Music Award, a Billboard Magazine Award, three Boston Music Awards and a Country Music Association Award.

Not bad for a kid from Massachusetts who began her career by playing clubs in the Boston area as a young teenager.

Get our free mobile app

"I was about 14 when I started that," Messina told Cleveland Scene Daily's Jeff Niesel in a February 2024 interview.

Jo Dee Marie Messina was born August 25, 1970, in Framingham, Massachusetts, and raised in Holliston, where she graduated from Holliston High School.

Messina told Niesel, "My mother used to take me out and sit with me. I used to sit in with other bands."

When she was around 15, Messina formed a band with her brother and sister. When she was 19, she left home for Nashville.

Messina's debut album in 1996, Heads Carolina, Tails California went gold.

IMDb says Messina "became the first country female to have three consecutive number-one hits from the same album." The songs "Bye Bye," "I'm Alright," and "Stand Beside Me" were from the album "I'm Alright," her second album.

Cole Swindell scored big in 2022 with "She Had Me With Heads Carolina," described as an ode to Messina's first hit record.

Messina married Chris Deffenbaugh in 2007. The couple has two sons.

In 2017, Messina was diagnosed with an undisclosed form of cancer. She canceled tour dates and underwent treatment. Messina returned to performing in 2018 and resumed touring in 2022.