Project is due April 7th via Big Loud Records
A genuine country article with neon coursing through his veins with a deep-drawling baritone and a soul that feeds on fiddle and steel, Big Loud Records’ Jake Worthington will bound onto the scene with the release of his full-length, self-titled debut April 7th.
Raised in La Porte, Texas on a steady diet of classic country music, from Ray Price to Merle Haggard to the Georges (Jones and Strait), Worthington’s grandfather is to credit for planting a seed that would eventually anchor his musical efforts. Rolling out an old vintage guitar on holidays to play twang-laden originals and covers on their South Texas porch, Worthington’s grandpa and the first-hand education he passed down were symptoms of a familial, multi-generational passion for honky-tonk, dance hall ditties that can be heard and felt now, infused into every note the 27-year-old plays.
Inspired by those early influences, Worthington began honing his craft as a performer and a songwriter in his mid-teens, graduating as he grew and bringing pure country devotion to writing rooms alongside Roger Springer, Monty Holmes, Nick Walsh, Robert Arthur, David Lee Murphy, Wyatt McCubbin, Jake Doucet, Jessi Alexander, and many more. His unmistakable truth-telling and signature drawl quickly carved him a lane all his own; a young up-and-comer with a catalog of time-travelling originals delivered with a larger-than-life vocal. It’s a lane that can only be called country.
“I don’t mind being a dark horse,” Worthington says, welcoming his role as keeper of the honky-tonk flame. “Blame it on my raising, but I think there ought to be room for country in country music.”
On his 13-track, all-but-one self-penned debut, his dance hall ready track list will deliver just that. Produced by Diamond-certified studio wizard Joey Moi and featuring a collaboration with labelmate Ernest, the collection perfectly marries traditional twang with an electric punch, modernizing honky-tonk music for a new generation of listeners.
This Friday (Mar 17th), Worthington will give fans old and new a taste of what’s to come, releasing two of his two-stepping standouts. Matching country’s emotional elements to an in-the-moment story with “State You Left Me In” and giving a rollicking tribute to the simple thrills of knowing who you are with up-tempo anthem “Next New Thing.”
Touring hard and hitting, Worthington is road-tested, previously opening shows for Cody Johnson, Riley Green, Pat Green, Hank Williams Jr., Ernest, and more. Looking down the road at 2023, he preps for another set of tour stops – both as a headliner and an opener for Randy Rogers Band, Jon Pardi, and Gary Allan – to break in his debut, bringing awe-striking performance chops to venues across the Lone Star state and beyond.
“Like my grandpa always says, you’ll know you have a hit song if the dance floor’s full,” Worthington says. “A lot of people have told me it’s hard to sell (our) kind of music, but I don’t care. I’ve always taken the long way around.”
- State You Left Me In
- Single At The Same Time
- Without You
- Pop Goes The Whiskey featuring Ernest
- Ain’t Got You To Hold
- She Ain’t You
- Next New Thing
- Honky Tonk Crowd
- I Ain’t Goin Anywhere
- Night Time Is My Time
- Only One Way To Find Out
- Heaven Can’t Be Found
- Closing Time
