Jake McVey at Vega 4/6
with Angelo Delsenno & The Empy Sky
Get tickets: http://ticketf.ly/1QZv6mH
Within every musical soul, there’s always an inner battle between security and creativity. Newcomer Jake McVey made the decision to walk away from a lucrative business designing and building custom guitars to pursue his dream. Instead of providing instruments for others to play music, he decided to step out and make his own.
“It was a scary leap,” confesses McVey, who just released his second album, ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE. “Everyone always wants security, but I always knew I was going to go this direction. It got to the point where I was doing a ton of shows and still working the day job. I always knew I was going to make music and somehow you just come to the point where it’s time. I bought a bus, sold everything I had, moved in it and went on the road.”
The decision has paid off as McVey has become one of the most in demand young acts in country music. Performing 300 shows last year, he was named one of the Top Ten touring acts by Billboard magazine. His experience encompasses a variety of venues from sold out clubs to opening for Martina McBride in front of a crowd of 22,000. His high-energy stage show has earned the respect of fellow performers as he’s paid his dues opening for Dierks Bentley, Sugarland, Keith Anderson, Jason Aldean and Little Big Town, among others. This year he was booked for 10 consecutive nights at the Iowa State Fair.
“I love to entertain, that’s my drug,” says McVey, whose upbeat attitude and impressive work ethic are nearly as appealing as his fresh country sound. “I love people, the more the better. I don’t really get butterflies anymore. It’s just great to entertain and do what you love to do.”
Performing for fans all across the country is the fulfillment of a dream Jake had been preparing for most of his life. “My mom played piano and my dad was a drummer, so music was always going around the house,” recalls McVey, who grew up working on is parents’ Iowa farm. “I knew at a young age that music is I wanted to do. Once I graduated, I moved to Phoenix to learn how to build guitars at the Roberto-Venn School of Luithery. Now most all of them—except one—that I play on stage are the ones that I built. When I first started and my tour schedule wasn’t so busy, I had my own little shop, but it started getting bigger and my goals were still here in the industry. I said ‘I can do this when I retire.’ I still build every once in a while for myself.”
McVey’s first CD attracted attention, especially with the singles “Unknown Highway” and “One of Those Days.” Still McVey admits it wasn’t easy when he first hit the road. “I had to sell some of my prized guitars to keep things a float for a while,” says McVey, whose high-energy stage show and skill as a guitarist has elicited comparisons to Brad Paisley and Keith Urban. “It was tough, but my approach was the old way of just taking the music to the people. And Of course, we’re Internet savvy and that’s helped too.”
