Born and raised on the south shore of Long Island, Jacob grew up enveloped by the music heard in his family’s house. Both his mom and dad played guitar and passed along a love and appreciation for all kinds of music.

As a present for his ninth birthday, he received his first guitar from his grandparents, a Hohner acoustic; though it wasn’t until a few years later that he would wipe the dust off and practice seriously. It was around this time that his father took him to his first concert, Richard Thompson. The connection and the rapport Thompson had with his audience excited him and sparked a new desire to perform.

He joined the school band as a trumpet player so that he could learn to read music but quickly discovered trumpet was not for him and that guitar was his calling. Studying with jazz guitarist, Bobby Watts, he was able to have a more formal training of the instrument. Once he got to high school, he performed with various bands as a guitarist and writer.

While in high school, he was forced to expand his skills in production and recording and ultimately attended trade school to become an audio engineer, simultaneously playing in a number of different bands. Leaning towards live sound production, he cut his teeth doing sound for punk shows at a local record shop before being employed by various theaters around the island.

In 2019, he left for Ireland where he stayed with another musician, Patrick Freeman, and studied the parallel lines between American folk and Irish traditional music. He returned to New York with new inspiration and appreciation for traditional music and storytelling.

He now writes and records his own music, drawing from folk, blues and world influences as well as playing other instruments such as mandolin, banjo, lap steel, piano, bass, and ukulele.