Every once in a while, a voice comes along that makes you sit up and pay attention. Virginia-born Americana prodigy Jake Kohn has such a voice. Gritty and full of emotion, Kohn’s vocals erupt in a way that doesn’t mesh with the fact that he’s still a teenager. This is a voice that has lived a thousand lives and gone through countless heartbreaks, while Kohn himself has only been on this Earth for 16 years.
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This is the voice that earned him a standing ovation at his Grand Ole Opry debut last fall, and he deserved it. His first single, “Frostbite,” introduced listeners to Kohn’s distinct vocals and songwriting talent. He’s been called “an old soul trapped in a young man’s body” and a “lightning in a bottle, once-in-a-lifetime artist” by Holler. Now, he’s released a new single, “Hard as Stone,” continuing his quick rise to Americana greatness.
These nightmares aren’t ending, flowing like the blood in my veins / Those hands you once lended, now for another’s embrace / You take on another who’d take my place / What did I ever do, but hold onto you in your darkest of days, Kohn sings in the second verse, painting a picture of love lost and of being replaced.
Kohn’s “Anthem”
The bridge of “Hard as Stone” is heavy in a satisfying way: I ain’t one for slowing down, so I guess it’s time to leave / Just like every time I’ve been let down, my roots will grow around your memory / This will all fade in time. Anyone can write lines like that, but for them to make an impact there has to be actual emotion behind them. Kohn’s songwriting possesses that emotion, perfectly mirrored in his raw, vulnerable vocals.
“I wrote ‘Hard as Stone’ on my 15th birthday on May 9, 2022,” Kohn said of the song in a press release. “I structured it differently than anything I’d done before and tried to create a song I viewed as somewhat of an anthem. I played it like I played all my other songs at the time—solo, acoustic, and slow—but I knew that it had the potential to be crafted into something greater.”
He continued, “I’m very proud of this song and the work we put into recording and releasing it, and I’m also proud of the personal connection it evokes for the people who enjoy the lyrics.”
Kohn’s blend of acoustic guitar, guttural vocals, and poetic songwriting singularly calls to mind Zach Bryan’s brand of alt-Americana country music. Bryan was a revolutionary sound when he broke onto the Americana scene, and he hasn’t yet stopped his runaway steam train of a career. Kohn, who taught himself how to play guitar at age 11, seems destined for the same trajectory.
Photo by Hannah Gray Hall
