The Jesse Tree brings rock and bilingualism to the GMF stage

Jesse McLaren, who performs as The Jesse Tree, is a Gibraltar-born artist who blends energetic rock and pop with uplifting, feel-good songwriting. After honing his craft on London’s live music circuit, he has built a connection with audiences through energetic performances and personal storytelling. 

Known for powerful performances with his band, he creates anthemic songs centred on confidence, chasing dreams and embracing life’s possibilities. While predominantly an English-language artist, Jesse is now expanding into the Spanish market with original releases and a Spanish version of his popular single, Amabella. 

Asked whether he would be performing alone or with a band at the GMF, Jesse quickly replied: “Nothing like a good old GMF to bring out the big guns and for me the opportunity to share the stage with my two band mates, Adrian Pozo on drums and Kyle Pou on bass, and I will be on vocals and guitar.” 

 “I will be playing a number of songs that I have been slowly releasing over the course of the last five years. 

“I plan to hit the stage running, energy, big, in your face, and as always have the most amount of fun possible.” 

Jesse added: “I will enjoy being back on a big festival stage, surrounded by our lovely Gibraltarians and, of course, hopefully play to a new crowd of those who will hopefully travel in from Spain.” 

Jesse is currently promoting Amabella in Spanish, describing it as the first step towards making use of his bilingualism and reaching audiences in Spain. 

“After moving back from the UK, and now settled in Gibraltar, what better way to exploit our bilingualism than to start promoting my music in Spain.” 

He added: “We have of course seen this in the past with a few bands from Gibraltar, so why not test the waters and give a new breath of life to my songs with lyrics in Spanish?” 

Amabella will not be the only song Jesse plans to release in Spanish, nor will it be the only Spanish-language song he performs at the GMF. 

He said: “Especially considering that we’re sharing the evening with Rosario and her band, who are huge and have been here before.” 

Looking ahead, Jesse said the only musical project he is currently focused on is The Jesse Tree. 

“This is where my passion and motivation lie.” 

“I plan to continue releasing music, for the time being in Spanish, and with a push towards the Spanish market, and hopefully grab some live gigs in Spain along the way.” 

The GMF performance will give The Jesse Tree an opportunity to bring its rock sound to the festival stage while continuing Jesse’s move into Spanish-language music. 

For Jesse, the focus remains on live performance, new music and reaching audiences on both sides of the border. 

“It’s all rock’n’roll and good times,” he said.