Author: Jennifer Pernicano

Hey there! My name is Jen, and I grew up in Los Angeles. I moved further down the coast to San Diego in 2011 and have been here ever since! I first moved to San Diego County to attend Cal State San Marcos, where I was recruited to play soccer. During my Senior Year, we made it to the National Tournament in Orange Beach, Alabama, which is where I had my first Waffle House experience. We also dined at Lambert’s and experienced their famous “thrown rolls” and other southern fixings.

I was not raised on country music but found it on my own while attending Junior College in Santa Monica, CA. My friends and I watched Scotty McCreery compete on “American Idol” and fell in love with his sound. Once we started listening to the songs he was covering every week, we were hooked. We quickly bought tickets to Stagecoach that same year and saw Josh Turner, Darius Rucker, Easton Corbin, Carrie Underwood, Kenny Chesney, Rascal Flatts, and more. I remember vividly when Rascal Flatts announced that Osama Bin Laden had been killed and led the entire crowd in a USA chant. I still have chills.

My love for country music only increased from there. The following year, I attended Stagecoach once again and began going to other country shows in my area. I fell in love with a lifelong country fan and we got married in 2016. Our first dance was to George Strait’s “Cross My Heart” sung by Country Rebel artist Dawn Beyer. We have two kids, a six-year-old daughter and a four-year-old son, who both love country music. My daughter’s favorite song in the whole world is Dolly Parton’s “9 to 5.” It is even her walkup song for baseball!

A few memorable concerts I have been to include Luke Bryan at Dodger’s Stadium, George Strait at Gillette Stadium, Luke Combs at Soldier Field, and Morgan Wallen at Petco Park. Some of the other live shows I’ve attended are Alan Jackson, Toby Keith, Blake Shelton, Carrie Underwood, Alabama, Shania Twain, Miranda Lambert, Lainey Wilson, Cody Johnson, Riley Green, Maren Morris, Sam Hunt, Lady A, Brad Paisley, and many more.

My kids are being raised on country music and they even came to see Luke Combs with us! It was quite hilarious to watch a three-year-old and five-year-old scream the lyrics, “Long neck ice cold beer never broke my heart!”

I began working for Country Rebel in 2015 when we were based in San Diego and continued to work remotely since the company’s relocation to Tennessee. It has been so incredible to see how far our company has come in the last decade!

In addition to loving to listen to and write about Country music, I enjoy listening to podcasts, watching Food Network, Reality TV, and shows like Grey’s Anatomy. My family and I love visiting restaurants that have appeared on “Diner’s, Drive-Ins, and Dives,” and try to visit one any time we go out of town.

I am a HUGE women’s soccer fan and support the San Diego Wave and the US Women’s National Team. Watching my daughter fall in love with a sport I have loved since I was eight years old has been so much fun. We both shed tears when we watched the legendary Alex Morgan take off her boots for the very last time and walk off the soccer field. We also watched Megan Rapinoe and Ali Krieger’s last matches as well.

My family and I are also on a years-long quest to visit every MLB ballpark. My husband has visited 14, I’ve visited 13, our son is at 9, and our daughter has been to 8!