Jake Kershaw hasn’t yet received his high school diploma, but the 17-year-old Michigan blues guitarist is playing major concerts and festivals alongside award-winning performers.
ANN ARBOR, MI – Jake Kershaw hasn’t yet received his high school diploma, but the 17-year-old Michigan blues guitarist is playing major concerts and festivals alongside award-winning performers.
Kershaw has played in front of thousands of people at the DeltaPlex Arena in Grand Rapids and has shared the stage with international artist Jonny Lang. He began performing publicly in 2014.
On Saturday, Aug. 18, Kershaw and his band opened the second day of the Ann Arbor Blues Festival at the Washtenaw Farm Council Fairgrounds.
A year after releasing a debut album, “Piece of My Mind,” Kershaw said he never imagined think his career would progress so quickly.
“Blues is not a super-popular genre, and it came as a surprise to me that people took me in like they did,” Kershaw said. “It’s surprising, but nice to know that I’ve grown this fast and had all these opportunities to work with people and meet people that some people wait their entire lives to work with.
“It’s really cool and humbling. I can’t believe I’m 17 and have done some of the stuff I’ve done.”
Kershaw, of Albion, began playing acoustic guitar at age 9, but shifted to the electric guitar after receiving a Fender Starcaster combo kit for Easter when he was 11.
After starting with rock-and-roll music, Kershaw in summer 2013 received a Stevie Ray Vaughan album. He fell in love with the blues.
“It was something different,” Kershaw said. “It’s where rock and roll came from and it’s where about every genre of music popped out of, besides jazz. It speaks to me in a different way.”
Kershaw said his guitar playing “came so natural,” and he thought it would be a great way to impress his friends. He did not envision making a career out of it.
In January 2014, Kershaw made his public debut in front of about 600 people. He continued to play shows, including monthly gigs at the Bohm Theater in Albion. He soon found himself playing alongside nationally known performers like Anthony Gomes, Albert Cummings Larry McCray and Walter Trout.
When not touring, Kershaw plays the euphonium in the marching band at Marshall High School, where he is about to begin his senior year. He said playing shows can be extremely difficult while attending high school. If Kershaw misses a certain number of days this year, he may not graduate.
“We have to plan around that — plan around marching band, homework and exams,” he said. “It’s going to be a lot of late nights with homework and getting home late.”
Kershaw also records music and released his debut album “Piece of My Mind” in summer 2017. He said he had to navigate a “learning curve” to record the seven-track CD.
“I did the vocals on that album so much it would blow your mind. It was ridiculous,” Kershaw said. “After we were done, and we released it, we learned so much that when we come back in to make our next one, hopefully we’ll be in-and-out.”
The album garnered Kershaw a “Jammie” award for “Listeners Choice Best Album by a New Artist” from WYCE, a radio station in West Michigan.
Kershaw’s future plans include continuing to tour and putting out new material in the form of singles. Kershaw said he likes recording in the studio but prefers performing live shows.
“There is nothing like performing in front of people,” he said. “I love playing live because you can speak to people… It’s just an awesome experience.”
