Jess Ryan remembers writing her first song as a kid growing up in California.

“I still have that song book, and it’s really bad,” she says with a laugh. “I was a 6-year-old writing about, ‘Oh baby, don’t you walk out that door.’ So my heart’s always been in writing songs.”

More than 20 years later, Ryan still writes songs. Only now, she has the life experience to back it up, and then some — a journey that includes a stint as a high-school teacher, six months wandering the West in a van, and time spent living in Montana. Through her soulful blend of earnest indie rock, swirling psychedelia and confessional folk, Ryan channels her heartbreak, her dreams and her passion.