Wat heb ik getwijfeld om deze te publiceren! Ik hoor hier zoveel authenticiteit, zoveel vakmanschap, zoveel passie en dat allemaal verpakt in het lichaam van een 16-jarige ... het is bijna niet te geloven. Ik had echter aanvankelijk de indruk dat hij het vocaal eenstuk forceert, alsof hij keihard zijn best doet om ouder en doorleefd te klinken. Dan bedenk ik me weer dat ik de jongeman helemaal niet ken en dus dat vooroordeel aan de kant moet schuiven. Ik hou het dus op '... authenticiteit, vakmanschap, passie ...'.
Luister ook naar: Frostbite
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“I wrote ‘Hard As Stone’ on my 15th birthday on May 9, 2022. I structured it differently than anything I'd done before and tried to create a song I viewed as somewhat of an anthem." Jake shared. "I played it like I played all my other songs at the time – solo, acoustic, and slow – but I knew that it had the potential to be crafted into something greater. I'm very proud of this song and the work we put into recording and releasing it, and I'm also proud of the personal connection it evokes for the people who enjoy the lyrics.”
Born in Winchester, VA – birthplace of Patsy Cline – Jake grew up influenced by country legends like Merle Haggard and Johnny Cash. At age 11, after being gifted a guitar from his great-grandmother, he taught himself how to play chords from a poster on his wall.
Five years later, Jake regularly goes viral on TikTok and YouTube, amassing 10M+ views across both platforms. Jake’s stunning live rendition of “Frostbite,” performed during his Grand Ole Opry debut in the fall of 2023, filled the storied theatre with his rich, raspy baritone and elicited a standing ovation (watch a clip of the performance here) – before inking his Lockeland Springs/Atlantic Records deal backstage later that evening. Jake also boasts 1.2M YouTube views on an early, beloved live video of “Frostbite” filmed in Charleston, West Virginia.
