Today we’d like to introduce you to Jacob Smalley
Hi Jacob, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I was born on the coast of Maine but grew up in the secluded woods of Northern Maine in a very large family. I taught myself how to play five string banjo at the age of eight years old using a beat up old banjo my mother had hanging on the wall for decoration. From there I learned to play guitar and mandolin and quickly found my personality in music. I started playing music out in the local bluegrass scene as a lead banjo player and began to dabble in song writing and singing as a young adult. At the age of 18 I traveled to Nashville and recorded my first full album of original music. Shortly after returning home to the woods of Maine I injured my hand in a woodworking accident and I left my music on the shelf to collect dust for over a decade.
in 2016 a fellow musician and friend convinced me to give music another try and once I opened that door again I could not stop. I began writing music again, formed my first band “The Jacob Smalley Band” and quickly rose to the top of the local music scene in Maine and Northern New England. My wife and I married in 2019 and we moved to the Midwest to begin our new life together and I began to pursue music in a different manner- I wanted to put my music on a National level. I’ve put in more time writing new original music from my own personal life experiences and just want my music to connect with people. I pushed my first song to Country Radio in June of 2024 and it has been steadily climbing the charts over the last couple of months.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Chasing a dream and handling life is never a smooth road or simple journey. There have been many moments in my life where music has saved me both mentally and financially and there have been just as many moments when music needed to take a backseat in my life. Moving across country and starting over has been one of my most recent struggles in music, however, it has also been a struggle that has began to payoff and show me consistent results of my music reaching others, which is one of my biggest goals in being in the music industry.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I am an original Country Music Artist who blends the lines between country and southern rock with powerful vocals that lean more towards the classical music genre. My live performances are what I am most known for as my music show is high-energy and brings a party to give people the opportunity to put aside life struggles and just enjoy the music.
My original music sets me apart from others because while I have some fun, dancing/party songs, I mainly focus on writing songs based on my struggles and the not so pretty parts of life. My most recent original song “Sober” dives into the ugliness of the journey to sobriety, a struggle thousands of people every single day struggle with and thousands of people die from. Another original song of mine, “Never Again” focuses on breaking the chains a toxic, influential person has on our life and walking away from someone you may have loved but could no longer keep in your life. Not all of my original songs focus on the depressing nature life can have, some of my other songs focus on love and life and the journey of being a parent.
Any advice for finding a mentor or networking in general?
The music industry is heavily built on networking, you have to know someone to get somewhere and I am still working on that part. I’d love to hear any advice anyone has for working in the country music industry.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.jacobsmalleymusic.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jacobsmalleymusic
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thejacobsmalleyband
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDzwDnPFylgiZJMUIwChHyw
