Singer/songwriter Adam Jensen has made Massachusetts proud and established himself as one of the biggest and best artists in the state. The Boston native (who even went to Worcester Academy for a year) has reached No. 7 on the iTunes charts and has played with some bands that are so big, the chance to play with them would make any musician salivate.

A classically trained pianist, Jensen started playing music when he was just a kid, eventually playing his first gig on the docks of Southie when he was only 15. That day kicked off a musical career that some can only dream of, leading him to major label success, international tours and even an opening slot for Bon Jovi at Gillette Stadium.

After his very young musical start, his career took off in his early 20s when, working under the name Mission Hill, he wrote songs and released several albums. Named after Jensen’s old neighborhood in Boston, Mission Hill signed to a major label and started playing shows everywhere. The hype the band built up carried it through two full-length albums and an EP, and the band opened for such mega-acts as Kid Rock, Bon Jovi, Live, Foreigner and Vertical Horizon, just to name a few.

After dealing with label headaches and legal nonsense, Jensen, who was always the main songwriter of Mission Hill, dropped the band name to become his own solo act. After numerous lineup changes, the final version of Mission Hill still plays as his backing band, and the old songs are still part of the catalogue. Since going solo, Jensen has had an easier time crafting his songs. With no record label or producers calling the shots, Jensen has full creative control and can write songs the way he wants.

“My new solo stuff is kind of a different sound. … My last project was all rock and commercial rock stuff. It’s more myself,” he said. “When I write for myself, I try to pull from a more personal place.”

ADAM-JENSEN-ALBUM-COVER-HIRES-1024x1024His latest album, Behold the Man, is a burst of new creativity that is made possible by his own Night Owl Studios in Brighton. “I have [the studio] so I can sing and play all night. I go in from 10 to 2 in the morning,” he said.

Jensen chose to release the album independently, and doing things his way landed Behold at No. 7 on the iTunes charts. The second half of 2014 will see him touring with the full band, as well as doing some solo acoustic shows. Even though he recently released Behold, Jensen is already working on new material for a follow-up EP, since, he said, he gets the itch to write new material every six months.

All of Jensen’s music is available on iTunes, Spotify and all other music-streaming services (and CD stores, if you’re still into that). And everything is available to stream on his website, along with some bonus songs, like a totally kick-ass version of Drake’s “Started From the Bottom.” Definitely keep an eye out for Adam Jensen, as he is one of Boston’s best.

For more information, visit adamjensenmusic.com.

By Alex Kantarelis