The Organic Unity of Music & Cannabis – A Q&A With Influencer Jessica Golich

I had the unique opportunity to sit down with cannabis influencer & concert photographer Jessica Golich to talk about her experience in the entertainment industry and the fluid transition to endorsing cannabis-related products.

Jessica has documented Top 40 concerts as well as notable events like the High Times Cannabis Cup, Breakaway Music Festival, Chicago Open Air and most prominently The Forbes Under 30 Summit. Her heavy involvement in the live entertainment space has allowed her the opportunity to interview and photograph some of the top names in music including Britney Spears, Justin Timberlake, Lady Gaga, Keith Urban, Quavo, Wu-Tang Clan, Thirty Seconds to Mars, The Chainsmokers, Snoop Dogg and more. Jessica’s appetite for life has also led her to brand partnerships with some of the biggest names in the Cannabis world including Ooze, Skunk Bags & CBD MD.

You’re a true triple threat – a concert photographer, music journalist & cannabis influencer. I’d love to know more about how the relationship between the three of these things has evolved and where do you find they organically overlap?

Thank you so much! Music commonly breeds coexistence and naturally promotes unity. As cannabis is an amazing and therapeutic healing source, the three have truly organically come together through Cannabis heightening my senses and elevating my experience of being present with the music and atmosphere. Therefore, I find myself to be far more receptive of the milliseconds and moments in particular when photographing a concert. There is an intimacy that I attempt to derive and capture from a musician’s artistry when photographing a live show, and I can’t stress enough how much Cannabis has positively served to slow down my mind and allow me to simply be in the atmosphere. Beyond my personal experience, it is amazing to see that Cannabis brands around the world have partnered with musicians of all genres to create their own strains and products which both serve as a phenomenal marketing tool and a tool to further enlighten mass-society on the universal benefits of cannabis.

Why do you choose to endorse cannabis-related products/CBD and how have they affected you personally? I’m assuming it’s all positive!

The benefits that I have derived from Cannabis and CBD have been so expansive. Mentally, my mind is sharper than it has ever been before. I’ve fallen back in love with taking care of myself. My personal relationships have strengthened tremendously and I’ve become a lot more of a mindful and centered human being through responsible consumption. Choosing to endorse cannabis-related products such as Ooze and Skunk Bags has been a fluid transition from solely working in the music industry and has also provided such a space of balance when it comes to creativity. Over the past year, I’ve learned that I am capable of so much more when I put my heart and energy into what I love, and I absolutely love being a part of history as the cannabis movement continues to make advances on several fronts.

Being Detroit-based, you’ve been one of the first to experience state legalization in America. From your perspective, how do you feel legalization has positively impacted your community and what are some of the first changes you noticed as soon as the law was passed?

Where do I begin with how much legalization has positively impacted Michigan?! First and foremost, Cannabis is one of the fastest growing job markets and continues to generate jobs and cut the unemployment rate which is a major win in itself. The economic benefits of legalization are tremendous; increased tax revenue, investment opportunities for entrepreneurs and more, etc. Ironically as for some of the first changes that I’ve noticed, the entertainment world has been able to expand and grow through Michigan legalization as brands such as High Times Magazine have been able to bring Cannabis Cup throughout the state of Michigan which has provided a major opportunity for local cannabis growers and vendors to sell their products. Through events such as Cannabis Cup, the entrepreneurial world and Detroit’s start-up scene continues to grow and prominent musicians worldwide are able to openly engage with their cannabis use at festivals as such which further drives opportunity between the cannabis industry and the music industry.

Photo Credit: AcronymOfficial

You’ve watched artist’s grow and evolve over time through the eyes of a concert photographer. Do you have any funny or interesting behind the scenes stories that you’ve gathered during your experience?

I have so many experiences that I can speak on! But I will say that one of my absolute favorite opportunities has been watching and engaging in the growth of Greta Van Fleet. As they are originally from Frankenmuth, Michigan, I have had the honor of photographing the band performing at Saint Andrew’s Hall in Detroit, The Fillmore in Detroit, The Fox Theatre in Detroit and then again at Coachella in 2018, and this was all within a 1.5 year span. I hung out with the guys in their trailer backstage at Coachella for an interview which quickly turned into a memory of a lifetime as we all meshed together and became friends. For an interview that was initially centered around their latest release at the time, it took off into a very human conversation about essential oils, mindfulness, breathing practices, sensory deprivation and so much more. Who would have thought?!

We live in a social media-driven world. Did you always envision yourself doing something similar to what you do now? What was your childhood dream?

I always tell my Photographer and best friend, Amy, that if I was still in grade school at this time, I would have been the kid walking up to every other kid in the lunchroom asking them to scan my Instagram name tag and follow me! I had my walls covered in posters of Justin Timberlake and Britney Spears. Given that I have had the honor to photograph both in my professional career, I can surely say that my childhood dream has formed into what I am doing now. I also grew up being the kid that had the most organized playlists possible and always rushed home from school to get onto my computer to update my Myspace page. Therefore, it has been a natural progression as social media has practically taken over the world today. Social media is the ultimate tool to connect, create and expand both in business and personally!

You’ve photographed events like Coachella and the Forbes 30 Under 30 Summit. What’s your favorite thing about photographing live events and what are some of the challenges you face? Do the challenges differ depending on the event?

I absolutely love the intimacy that I am able to capture within an artist when I am in tune with myself. The more that I am in tune with my breath and my posture throughout the set, the more I notice that the photographs come out with far more depth. The challenges that I face tend to differ depending on the event but I’ve never had a challenge that I wasn’t able to shift my perspective on! For instance, there was a time recently in which I photographed a very prominent rapper and he had taken my photos from my Instagram page and gave me no credit at all. He posted them on his personal page, his record labels page, his managers page and his group’s page; did not credit me in any of them. The lesson learned there for myself was to be proactive and watermark major photos as such as I lost out on a major opportunity for serious organic traction on social media. But that doesn’t excuse that rapper from not tagging me for using my photo to begin with; there’s a few factors of accountability that come into play here.

Photo Credit: AcronymOfficial

Your TikTok channel has grown tremendously through your authentic, front row concert footage. What do you like about TikTok in comparison to other social media platforms and why have you chosen to highlight concert footage on this platform specifically?

TikTok is such an amazing and expansive platform at this time! There are few restrictions when it comes to the algorithm which creates a space for opportunity for all. I was hired by TikTok’s Creator Growth Program in which we had to choose a specific niche to build-out content with, therefore, I recognized the privilege that I have with being so close at concerts and knew it was a way to capitalize on content and build my account organically. I think that it’s safe to say that it worked!

What’s the best concert you’ve ever been to and why? You have to have a favorite!

I always love when I am asked this question because I think that my answer continues to change over time as I reflect upon all of my concert experiences even more! Today, I would have to say that my experience of covering Coachella in 2018 stands out as the most prominent and memorable experience yet. From beginning to end, being able to be so intimately among some of the biggest musicians, journalists and photographers in the world while witnessing Eminem, Beyonce, Cardi B, The Weeknd and so many more tear up the stage in one full weekend = priceless.

Where do you hope to be a year from now? We’d love to know more about your plans to expand and reach new audiences.

Over the next year, it is one of my utmost desires to work closely with a Detroit Cannabis brand on cultivating my own cannabis strain and going through the entire process of breeding, growing, branding, marketing, etc. I am also interested in expanding within my current cannabis partnerships to create exclusive merch and products. As I continue to grow in the Cannabis world as an influencer, I look forward to public appearances at events and music festivals around the country including BUKU Music + Art Festival in a few weeks!

Be sure to follow Jessica Golich on Instagram, Twitter & Tik Tok.

You can also view her expansive photography portfolio here!

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