Jake Penrod is a singer, composer, songwriter, and band leader from the Piney Woods of East Texas. Playing the piano since age five and teaching himself guitar at nine, he’s now a multi-instrumentalist whose most recent accolade is a nomination for the Austin Chronicle’s best country artist of the year. In 2017, he was given the Ameripolitan Music Award for Honky Tonk Male. In 2015, he was recognized as the Academy of Western Artists’ Pure Country Male Vocalist of the Year. His songs have been covered by Joey Allcorn, Lonnie Spiker, and the Country Side of Harmonica Sam. He’s worked with and played with some of the greats- Ray Price, Charlie Pride, Asleep at the Wheel, Dale Watson, Bobby Flores, Johnny Lee, Bobby Bare, Moe Bandy, Jody Nix, Two Tons of Steel, Johnny Bush, Earl Poole Ball, and T. Graham Brown, to name a few.
A typical night with Jake and his Million-Dollar Cowboys, finds you non-stop two-stepping and waltzing to music built on a foundation laid by masters, such as Hank Sr., Merle Haggard, and Ernest Tubb. You might even hear the occasional polka (a requirement in the Texas Hill Country.) When he isn’t busy with his own band, he can be found most Sunday nights at the famed Continental Club on S. Congress in Austin with legendary band, Heybale!.
Jake has been a staple on the festival scene, appearing onstage at some of Europe’s biggest festivals - the Country Rendezvous in Craponne sur Arzon, France, and the Summer Jamboree in Senigallia, Italy, as well as various shindigs around the Lone Star State - the San Angelo Cowboy Gathering in San Angelo, TX, the Best Little Cowboy Gathering in Texas in La Grange, and, of course, the Athens Old Fiddlers’ Reunion in his hometown of Athens, TX.
Despite his accolades, Jake really isn’t too concerned with image, persona, or delusions of stardom. He’ll tell you he’s more about “listen to this,” than “look at me.” In his own words, his greatest honor is Kinky Friedman once called him “A Great Texan.”
