Local Country singer/songwriter releases debut EP

RENO, Nev. (KOLO) - Reno’s Jake Jacobson has just released his debut EP, called “Lovin’ and Leavin’“.

“It’s a little bit of western and just a smidge of rock n’ roll and honky-tonk,” explained Jacobson. “It’s good music, and music that people can relate to.”

The four-track EP was released a week after he performed in the Reno Rodeo’s Kick-Off concert, opening for Justin Moore.

“That was arguably one of the greatest nights of my life,” said Jacobson. “It was unbelievably special. I mean growing up as a kid, I went to the Reno Rodeo two or three nights every year.”

It shows how far he’s come in such a short amount of time. He founded the Jake Jacobson band in 2019, but earned some national attention the following year, thanks to a Twitter post.

“I hadn’t posted a video in a while, and I had been listening to Randall King’s ‘Hey Cowgirl’, so I figured hey, why not take a stab at this one and see what I can do with it,” explained Jacobson.

He recorded the acoustic version during some downtime at his job at High Mark Distillery, and that post was noticed by King himself. A day later, King’s A&R guy reached out and set up a meeting in Nashville.

“It’s pretty crazy,” admitted Jacobson. “I definitely couldn’t have done it without Scott Gunter. He’s kind of set me up for success in a way that nobody else could.”

That led to new opportunities and relationships, including serving as the opening act for King.

“Having the success that he is now, still be willing to reach down and try to pull me up there with him, there’s not a whole lot of guys that are like that,” continued Jacobson.

The first single off the EP is called “The Speed of Neon Light”, which had 11,000 streams in the first two weeks following its release.

“Just in the last year, everything’s significantly changed,” added Jacobson. “It’s been very overwhelming, but at the same time, it’s been very rewarding.”

His band is busy touring the country, with shows scheduled for California, Arizona, Montana, Utah and Idaho this month alone. And of course a few here in Nevada, including the Chicken Wing Festival in Reno on July 29th.

“The really neat part about it is that my whole band lives here in town,” said Jacobson. “Everybody except one was born in Nevada.”

You can get more information about his band and his music at www.jakejacobsoncountry.com.

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