Jake Armerding

Artist Information

Biography

The Boston Globe calls Jake Armerding "the most gifted and promising songwriter to emerge from the Boston folk scene in years."

After joining a farm CSA in 2009, he adopted the idea for his own projects, and launched Community Supported Art in late 2011. The Jake Armerding CSA, now in its second year, delivers a digital box of new, independent music and artwork to subscribers each month.

A collection of songs from this musical experiment became Cosmos in the Chaos, his sixth full-length release. The album "gets closer to the sound in my head than anything I've done before," says Armerding. "Having a subscription base gave me the freedom to jump off higher cliffs in what I was composing."

Armerding grew up playing classical violin and listening to 80's pop radio. Over the course of 1500 performances, he has shared the stage with Bela Fleck, Nickel Creek, Josh Ritter, David Wilcox and Toad the Wet Sprocket.

He lives in Boston.

Instrumentation

Jake Armerding -- vocals, fiddle, guitar, mandolin
Zack Hickman -- bass
Jesse Armerding -- drums

Discography

Cosmos in the Chaos (Stick Shift Records, 2013)

Community Supported Art [ongoing] (launched on January 1, 2012)

Cellar Sessions [The Fretful Porcupine] (Stick Shift Records, 2010)

Her (Stick Shift Records, 2009)

Songs in Stained Glass (Stick Shift Records, 2009)

Walking On The World (Stick Shift Records, 2007)

Jake Armerding (Compass Records, 2003)

Caged Bird (self-published, 1999)

Official Website

http://www.jakearmerding.com

Links

• Jake Armerding Website
• Facebook
• Twitter
• MySpace
• The Jake Armerding CSA

Audio

• Favorite Person
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• S.D.G.
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• Catchy Paul & Dreamy John
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• Blessed Are The Poor
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• Mayday
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• Lonesome Fiddle Blues
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• Adonai
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• Little Boy Blue
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• Psalm 136
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Video

Lonesome Fiddle Blues (Jake Armerding and friends).mov

Photo Gallery

Press

• Boston Globe [+ Show ]
  

  Armerding's a Master at Bending Boundaries Jake Armerding, the 28-year-old Ipswich native, is an ...Armerding's a Master at Bending Boundaries
  
  Jake Armerding, the 28-year-old Ipswich native, is an unlikely candidate for mainstream country success. In seven-odd years in Boston, his real achievement has been to bend the boundaries of the genre; his songs aren't exactly folk, but aren't bluegrass, either. Only rarely does he sing about rusty pick-up trucks or winding rural roads.
  
  But Armerding, who played to a packed house at the Paradise Lounge on Sunday night, has never claimed to be a traditionalist. His new CD, "Walking on the World," is dizzying -- it weaves together fiddle, mandolin, and guitar; stories about Rome and nostalgia; consonant ballads about a fleece jacket; and dissonant, off-kilter rags. It was mixed, according to the liner notes, in North Carolina, mastered in New Hampshire, and engineered in Tennessee, California, and West Newton.
  
  "This one's a country tune," Armerding explained, near the end of the hour-and-a-half set, although it wasn't, any more than the two bluegrass numbers that followed were straight bluegrass, or the encore, "Graceland," was a perfect translation of Paul Simon.
  
  Where does music like this come from? Partly from a will to break the conventions that define country music, and mostly from a sense that all good songs are, in essence, pastiche. "Daddy was a highway, Mama was a view," Armerding offered on "Little Boy Blue (North of North Dakota)." Later, Armerding turned his eyes up to the ceiling and sang about lonesome red-eye flights. Gone was the cowboy, and in was the city kid, struck with wanderlust.
  
  Sunday's show was the first in a 14-city tour to support the release of "Walking on the World." Set tentatively to end in New York in April, it includes only one other Massachusetts date. So the Lounge was crowded with well-wishers, who had come to see him off; Armerding stopped several times to thank them. "I appreciate it, I really do," he said, waving. Then, as he brought his backing band crashing through "Graceland," he smiled and executed a rock star stomp -- legs splayed, one hand skyward -- that would have made Elvis Presley proud.
  
  --Boston Globe, March 23, 2007

• George Graham (WVIA-fm Virginia) [+ Show ]
  

  An engaging and very pleasing album of new love songs ... the quality of songwriting is high, and th...An engaging and very pleasing album of new love songs ... the quality of songwriting is high, and the fact that [Armerding] can pull off an entire recording of such a much-visited subject and not have it come off as trite is an accomplishment.
  

• The Curator [+ Show ]
  

  "Jake sang songs about backpacking, a few love songs, a song about the devil, and a protest song abo..."Jake sang songs about backpacking, a few love songs, a song about the devil, and a protest song about airport security. Can I get an amen?"

• Santa Barbara News-Press [+ Show ]
  

  "Mr. Armerding arrived on the heels of his newly independent, post-Compass life, with the release of..."Mr. Armerding arrived on the heels of his newly independent, post-Compass life, with the release of "Walking on the World." Made in five years and in various cities, the album's diversity -- presented in his live set -- made for a fuller picture of his distinctive stylistic blending. He has concocted an intriguing musical stew out of bluegrass, pop, folk and a swipe of blues, nicely blended in a personal and unpretentious way."

• Washington Post
  

  "His instrumental fiddle skills are remarkable."

• Sing Out! [+ Show ]
  

  “Walking On The World is a timely set of new songs from a very gifted young composer … the listening...“Walking On The World is a timely set of new songs from a very gifted young composer … the listening public needs to embrace the well-written, thought-provoking pop music Jake Armerding is offering. I think we'd all be the better for it.”
  
  --Sing Out!

• Lansing State Journal [+ Show ]
  

  Boston Singer-Songwriter Delivers a Rewarding Third Album "...his pastiche-like songs suggest met...Boston Singer-Songwriter Delivers a Rewarding Third Album
  
  "...his pastiche-like songs suggest meticulous craft, sometimes narrative, sometimes impressionistic, always engaging and clever … 'Walking' is sharp, original, quietly intense, and rewarding for any who'll listen with both ears."
  
  --Lansing State Journal, April 12, 2007
  

• Vintage Guitar [+ Show ]
  

  "Armerding's newest effort has a wider musical scope than the earlier releases, but his songwriting ..."Armerding's newest effort has a wider musical scope than the earlier releases, but his songwriting is even more focused, articulate, and poignant."
  
  --Vintage Guitar, June 2007

• Cleveland Country Magazine [+ Show ]
  

  "Armerding straddles a curious fine line between 'new folk' singer/songwriter, contemporary bluegras..."Armerding straddles a curious fine line between 'new folk' singer/songwriter, contemporary bluegrass, and a 'swinging' country-pop style that appears wholly organic both in its approach and execution. That he occupies each with such self-assurance and ease is a testament to his originality as a songwriter and his skills as a fiddler, mandolin player, and guitarist ... if you're willing to back an emerging new talent, look no further than Jake Armerding."

• Country Standard Time
  

  "His vicious fiddle playing has left a long trail of dropped jaws..."

Setlist

Set lengths are very adaptable, but the two most common approaches are one set of 75-90 minutes or two sets of 45-50 minutes each.

Occasionally, at weddings or similar venues, the band is asked to perform three or four hours of music, which is also feasible for us.

Basic Requirements

Calendar