Jordan Suber performing during Park Jams, through the Newberry Opera House, in Memorial Park.
Andrew Wigger | The Newberry Observer
NEWBERRY — Jordan Suber, a multi-talented musician, has rocked multiple venues locally in Newberry, including Park Jams right in downtown Newberry, and across the state of South Carolina.
Currently, Suber is gearing up to release new music by the end of this year. What started out as learning piano at the age of eight, later became playing saxophone, dabbling in guitar and and now even playing the cajón (a musical instrument played by hitting a box) all while singing. Suber is an artist tied to Newberry County and demonstrates a way to represent the community through his love for music.
Suber’s musical journey started at the age of 17 in his high school band as the lead keyboardist. As the band was preparing for a public event, Suber was asked to jump in and harmonize as a lead singer. Suber immediately jumped into the role that ultimately changed the course of his life.
“When I started playing in my first band in front of an audience it transformed the way I looked at music. Before then, music was always formal only at school or church. My first harmonization is when I started to have more fun with music. That was when I realized this is what I want to do,” said Suber.
Ever since Jordan’s debut in music a decade ago, Suber has continued to fuel his passion by performing a variety of music for his audience. Majority of his performances include a blend of country, rock, R&B and even classical rock.
Suber is an artist who cares about his audience and continuously strives to cater his song selection based on the audience’s taste. He has a music library of all of the songs he has memorized that allows him to adjust his performance depending on the type of songs the crowd is more receptive to.
“My music described in three words would be personal, soulful, and fun” he said.
Suber typically performs every week, providing him the opportunity to continuously improve his craft. He also enjoys experimenting with new musical techniques such as live guitar, and even live music mixing. Alongside his cover performances, Suber also sings during church on Sundays.
“Playing in front of people is vulnerable. You have to remind yourself, hey, I’m here to entertain people. I’m here to do my best.Regardless of how I’m feeling, regardless of what was going on before this or after this, I have to come up here and do my best. During my performance, I am in the moment and on top of everything,” said Suber.
Suber uses his music to make a bridge between him and his audience as a pure form of connection. Though Suber is already a musician, he values improving himself and his music therefore he welcomes all feedback from his audience.
“I am not the most extroverted so it is nice to see that music can make people come up and talk to me like that after my performances,” he said.
Suber draws inspiration for his music from his hometown, Pomaria. Suber describes that nature, a sense of community and peace in Newberry County allows him to delve into music deeper. He especially appreciates the quietness of Newberry, which allows Suber to do deep work, a form of undistracted work without multi-tasking, that increases his productivity as a musician.
“Since it is really quiet here, I find it helpful to get my creative juices flowing. I also take a certain sense of pride in representing the Newberry community,” said Suber.
Soon, Suber aims to be an independent artist and continue performing for his fans. He hopes to end the year with fresh tunes for everyone to hear.
“My dream in the next few years is to see people buy tickets to come see me. It is wonderful knowing that people know I am going to be singing and performing for them,” he said.
Alongside playing music, Suber loves cooking chicken tacos at home and eating Indian cuisine. In conjunction with music, Suber enjoys being outside with nature, kickboxing, fishing, and reading. If Suber was not a musician he said, “I would be a graphic novel author since I always enjoyed writing since the fourth grade.”
Suber continues to perform while working on writing and producing his music for the future. He also advises any individuals starting out in music: “It is not going to be perfect when you start so you have to be okay with being a learner. You have to be a student. You definitely got to get through that. When you’re learning anything new, embrace it. A quote I remind myself of repeatedly is ‘enjoy the suck.’”
Look for Jordan Suber’s upcoming music this fall. To learn more about his upcoming performances visit Jordan Suber on Facebook.