- Nick Jonas, Kevin Jonas, and Joe Jonas make up The Jonas Brothers band
- The group’s parents, Denise and Kevin Sr., helped manage their early careers
- The Jonas Bros. released a new LP called ‘The Album’ and announced a 35-date tour in 2023
The Jonas Brothers released a new full-length LP called The Album in May 2023 and the band is hitting the road for an arena tour, aptly named The Tour, in support of it! Kicking off at the Yankee Stadium, the 35 concerts across North America are being billed as a trip through “five albums, one night” on the Jonas Brothers’ website.
With enough music to fill a stadium tour and a good sense of decorum to maintain a 2-decade career, the teeny boppers-turned-adult pop stars have clearly been guided by a powerhouse team of parents. Enter mom Denise Jonas and dad Kevin Jonas Sr., who met their first day at Christ for the Nations Institute in Dallas in 1985 at the age of 18 and were married in August of that year, according to Good Housekeeping. Denise even told the outlet that it was love at first sight. “He was talking about working at a summer camp with these young kids, and all his passion and heart for them. And I thought, ‘He could be a wonderful father someday,'” she explained.
The early days of their marriage were filled with Kevin Sr. toiling as a carpet installer and a Christian music director. “We had to live on food stamps,” Denise recalled to the outlet. “It was very hard on my husband. It was a humbling time.” However, the parents kept fostering their boys’ passion for music and eventually they were signed to a record label in 2006 and the rest is history! Let’s meet more about Denise and Kevin Sr., below.
Denise Jonas
Denise was born in July 1966 in Dallas and raised in Newburgh, NY with a father who worked at an exterminating company and the postal service, and a mom who worked in public school education, per Good Housekeeping. Denise described her childhood to the outlet as a “typical Italian” with big food and big love. Her family converted to Catholicism and after high school, Denise felt called to missionary work. “I had a heart to give my life to service. [But] I didn’t really know all I could do in that area,” Denise explained. “After meeting my husband, we were able to work through music.”
After welcoming sons Kevin, Joe, Nick and Franklin, the parents had their hands full, but Denise looked at raising a big brood as an opportunity. “We wanted [everyone] to feel joy in the presence of our children,” she said. “We taught our kids proper manners. Because they’re going to be adults a lot longer than they’re children.” She also argued, “Kevin and I aren’t friends with our children. We’re their parents. That’s very important.”
As fans know, Denise now has grandchildren to look after as well! Kevin and his wife Danielle are the proud parents of two daughters, Joe and Sophie Turner have welcomed two kids, and Nick and his wife Priyanka Chopra recently welcomed a baby. And Denise loves to gush about them all on her Instagram!
Kevin Jonas Sr.
Denise described her husband Kevin Sr. as growing up “dirt poor” in rural North Carolina with a single mother, per the outlet. It was also reported that Kevin Sr. was “considered a musical prodigy and singing professionally at age 7.” After marrying Denise and ditching his own performing dreams, Kevin Sr. began to foster his boys’ love of music. They made their way to record label meetings, a contract and a quick heartbreak: In 2006, Columbia dropped the group, reportedly telling Kevin Sr., “The [success] indicators aren’t there.” He called it “devastating” but kept pushing until his eldest three sons landed another contract.
Now with The Jonas Bros. a bona fide hit, Kevin Sr. is focusing on Franklin’s career. In April, he took to his Instagram to gush about Franklin’s debut at a a music festival. “So excited for @franklinjonas performance for #Stagecoach,” he wrote alongside a snap of Franklin standing by the stage.
Kevin Sr. is also into giving advice to parents who are considering getting their kids into Hollywood. “If you’re going to have a career, please don’t leave it to a record company, don’t leave it to management, if you are not driving that ship, you will fail,” he said during an interview posted to his Instagram.