Jordan and Madison Skinner are the twin daughters of lifelong Southeast Texas residents Christy and Brian Skinner. Realizing early on that the girls had talent, they allowed them to join the Beaumont Community Players at the age of 6. Jordan and Madison said it started as a fun outlet that allowed them to express themselves, with no idea at the time where it might lead. They participated in the summer program at BCP every year after that all the way through high school, with Madison eventually getting the lead role in the production of “Legally Blonde” followed by Jordan playing a lead role in “Aladdin”. They studied classical music in school, and both made the Texas All-State Choir as Lumberton High School seniors. Although they had had some admirable success by the time they graduated high school, they decided that they did not want to teach choir or try and make it on Broadway. They were not real sure where they would fit as musical artists. They decided they wanted to pursue songwriting as a profession while still being able to perform.

Jordan and Madison wanted to go where they could chase their dream, so they moved from Southeast Texas to Nashville, Tennessee. They said it was quite a culture shock as they went from being big fish in a small pond to being very small fish in an ocean. However, they found out very quickly that the community of artists in Nashville are very supportive of one another and help to build each other up – they are competitive but caring. They understand that if one of them has success they can use that to help bring others along. The girls attended Belmont University and continued to work on their craft. In 2017, they watched from afar as Hurricane Harvey devastated their former home. Their grandparents’ house was flooded, as were many homes belonging to other friends and family. Jordan and Madison wrote a song soon after which became the first Jaye Madison single to be released. The song “Soul of Texas” was made into a music video which can be found on YouTube and features many scenes of the Southeast Texas flooding which inspired it. They said that song along with their Texas roots helped them decide who they were going to be – country artists with rock, blues, and other influences.

After college they both had to get “real” jobs. They said that having to pay all their bills and “be adults” has helped them mature, however it seemed at first that the 9 to 5 grind was crushing their creative spirit. They got back in the studio and recorded “Down”. The song was released 2 days after the tornados struck Nashville and Central Tennessee, causing at least 25 deaths and over 1 billion dollars in damages. Even though it was hard for them to self-promote during that time, they did. The date for release, once established, cannot be changed. The song has proven to be a great success and now has had over 17,000 downloads. It can be found on any streaming service such as Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon, and more. As a result of this success, they were asked to perform as newcomers at the Country Music Association (CMA) Awards. Sadly, like so many other things in 2020, the show was cancelled. Even though they were unable to perform they still take pride that they made it on the list.

Jordan and Madison then dazzled us with a heartfelt performance of a new song, “Peace of Mind”. I saw Christy wiping away a tear at the song’s end and I’m pretty sure she wasn’t the only one. Their strong voices and beautiful harmonies were very evident even over a Zoom connection. These are two beautiful young performers with immense talent, and we should be proud of the way they are representing Southeast Texas. Please follow them on social media and download their songs. We need to support them and help them on their path to stardom.