JBL Emerging Interview: Jake Kohn, the teenager with the voice of an old soul

He might be 15, but his voice is 46 and works on a tow boat on the Mississippi River. For Appalachia native and rising talent Jake Kohn, this is not an unusual comment to spot under his YouTube and Instagram videos. Another fan points out that his voice is what a resume means when they say they want someone aged 18-22 with 30 years of work experience. No, he isn’t ageing faster than a US president – it’s country star Kohn’s mature, raspy baritone and lyrics that hint at a pain far beyond his years that has people in disbelief that he’s under 18. In this Emerging Headliner interview powered by JBL, one of Virginia’s most talked-about musical prodigies explains how a 17 year old is killing it in a genre of music usually reserved for middle-aged songs about drink, heartbreak and divorce.

“Oh yeah, I've seen those,” laughs a laidback Kohn (who’s 16 at the time of interview) about comments pertaining to his age . “Those are great. I just laugh; they’re funny.”

Indeed, he’s been called an old soul as much as his given name. His talent has been described with such phrases as “once in a lifetime” and “lightning in a bottle.” But don’t let his baby face fool you: when his voice fills the room, it becomes clear why he signed to Lockeland Springs/Atlantic Records at such a young age.

He may be going viral these days, but he’s still a regular teenager. As soon as we wrap up this interview he leaves to play a festival, and makes it back in time for prom.

“I just sleep a lot and hang out with folks I don't see very often,” he says in a strong southern drawl when asked what he does in his spare time, adding that his friends have got used to his growing popularity in the music world. “I've always been doing music. I've been doing this for five or six years, so everybody's used to it. Now everybody's over it,” he laughs. 

“I'm not that interesting. I kind of just do music. I’m lame,” he shrugs. “It's like a full time job now that I'm out of school.”

Born in Winchester, Virginia (home of Patsy Cline), Kohn is no stranger to country music. While he doesn’t come from a musical background, he grew up listening to legends like Merle Haggard and Johnny Cash with his father, Erick. At 11 years old, he was gifted a guitar from his great-grandmother. He taught himself to play chords from a poster on his wall. His mentor, Buddy Dunlap, would allow him to come and play at his barn, teaching him some tricks of the trade along the way.

“Growing up, my dad listened to a lot of those artists,” he nods, “and I took that on just inherently because I was always exposed to it. It was always something that sounded good to me and is what I listened to the most. These days, I listen to all kinds of stuff, like different playlists and all genres. I don't limitate. But I mostly listen to country. There's no competition.”

Kohn says he penned his first “good” song at 12 years old. “I have plenty more bad songs than good ones, that I promise,” he insists, downplaying his talent. “I set high standards for myself when it comes to writing, because if I don't like it, I don't want anyone else to like it either.”

It was through posting his music on YouTube that his (now) manager, Ashley Wells, found a performance of that very song, and with her help, he began travelling outside of Virginia for shows. With the support of his mother, Maria, Kohn began playing live gigs at places he otherwise (still) isn’t old enough to get into. He soon began receiving encouragement from local artists such as Logan Moore from Low Water Bridge Band, and at 15, he had developed a following and was being approached by industry professionals.

“It was really foreign,” he says of navigating an adult world as a child. “But I adapted to it pretty well because my parents were always with me. So I wasn’t being deviant,” he grins.

It’s not surprising fans draw comparisons to artists like Joe Cocker and Janis Joplin when they hear his raw, throaty voice, but perhaps the more inexplicable characteristic of Kohn’s music is his songwriting, which tell stories of the trials and tribulations of a full life. One of his biggest songwriting influences is Justin Townes Earle, and Kohn continues to draw inspiration from his music and guitar style.

Kohn doesn't give much away during the interview, but it’s when asked about songwriting that conversation flows most freely: “Growing up, when I was super young I was listening to really old music, and that didn't stop there. I'm just a history nerd, basically. But country music history was my biggest obsession, which is weird. I've always been this strange kid that writes and doesn't do anything else.”

On what – as a teenager who writes about what appears to be more mature emotions – inspires his songs exactly, he says:

“It really depends on where I am when I get the inspiration to write something. I'll write on paper, I'll write with a computer, I'll write on my phone – it doesn't matter. It's just where I am at that moment. A lot of the time, I'll get inspired by being in a particular place, like a different region or a new state. Every place has a different feeling. That's how I go about it. However, I try to convey emotion into my songs and that's basically where I tell stories – through the lyrics. Whatever emotions I can feed into that is how I gather inspiration for songs.”

These days, Kohn regularly goes viral on TikTok and YouTube, amassing 10M+ views across both platforms. In 2023, a video of him performing his song, Frostbite went viral and racked up over 1.2M views on YouTube. Later that year his powerful live rendition of the song performed during his Grand Ole Opry debut filled the storied theatre with his robust, soulful voice and elicited a standing ovation.

“There wasn't really time to even react,” he says about the viral video. “It was basically a light switch moment. We went in high gear when that video came out. All of [the videos] had done pretty well up until then, but it took off, and then the next video that I did was even more. You know, when I wrote the song….” he trails off, changing tact: “A lot of people think that I write a lot of personal things, but I've always just been this storyteller, and it takes on meaning for a lot of people. It's cool to see the emotion conveyed in the song resonate with people.”

His songwriting may not be autobiographical, but it paints an accurate picture of the struggles and hardships many Americans face, particularly those in Appalachia. Recent single, Dreams, is no exception, and is another testament to Kohn’s ability to capture a listeners’ attention with soul-stirring lyricism. On perhaps his most earnest song yet, Kohn embraces a striking vulnerability that has resonated deeply with fans decades older than he.

Kohn shares that the comments about Dreams have been “overwhelming”, with fans letting him know how much it means to them. “The people that connected with that song are very big fans of that song,” he nods. “I feel like, that's just the hill that they'll die on, you know?” he laughs. “A lot of people take on personal meanings that help deal with their hardships, day to day,” he adds, more seriously.

On what inspired the song, he answers matter of factly: “That exact emotion: Hardship and struggling with being lost in life.”

Kohn shares that he was advised not to release this particular track: “I was told time and time again that this song shouldn’t be released. It’s too long for public consumption. It’s hard to follow. It’s not my best writing. One thing I’m going to do is stay true to who I am. I’ve never written a song trying to write a hit, and I’m not going to release them based on that either. It’s powerful to me that something I wrote could have a significant impact on people I don’t know. 

"That’s the reason I do this, so this song is already successful to me. The amount of comments and messages I’ve received asking me to release this song is unreal. It may not be a hit, but if it resonates with one of you, it’s a success to me.

“That song was our biggest social media moment,” he continues. “I think it was almost 10 million on TikTok. Out of everything we posted, people were begging for that song to be released. I just didn't see why they were trying to release other songs and were not focusing on that song at that moment, so that's what I decided to do.”

On what he hopes for in his career, if he could aim for the highest highs, Kohn keeps it down to earth: “I just want to continue to be able to do what I do and enjoy it. That's all I know. That's all I really want.”

On his growing fandom and if he’s been star struck yet when mixing in different circles, he says:

“I've met a lot of people that I'll freak out about, like people that I've been fans of for years. But I don't think I've really met anybody that's super…” he trails off, thinking. “I mean, I've obviously got crazy comments – Fred Durst from Limp Biscuit,” he concedes with a smile. “Yeah, Fred Durst follows me. That's cool. I love that. That's probably my favourite.”

Kohn boasts over 95,000 monthly Spotify listeners, and that’s having released just four singles. With fans keen to hear a lengthier body of work, is there any more music planned?

“Oh yeah,” he shares cagily. “We've been recording. There will definitely be an album coming eventually…in the future. It’ll be this year,” he reveals when pushed on how far into the future that could be.

When songwriting inspiration strikes and he’s at home, Kohn can record demos on his home studio setup, which includes an AKG P220 microphone, K240 MKII headphones, a pair of JBL 305P MKII powered studio monitors and a Soundcraft Notepad-8FX eight-channel mixer.

“The monitors were so easy to set up,” he notes, “and once I got them to work it was so much simpler than anything else I tried to do before. I do a lot of demos and send them off from home, so I don't have to do them far away.”

Meanwhile, his AKG mic is key when it comes to capturing his distinctive, raspy vocals: “The way it sounds is pretty great; I don't think I've had a microphone that's got that clear and that loud. I'm not good with sound,” he admits, “so it’s great that it’s really easy to use because I'm not good with that stuff! It's really clear and loud. That's the thing: it doesn't just muffle, and the AKG headphones sound great.”

Country music is experiencing something of a music renaissance in mainstream charts of late, helped by artists like Post Malone, Morgan Wallen, Shaboozey, Miley Cyrus and Beyoncé. Kohn may be considered something of a one-to-watch in terms of bringing country music to Gen-Z, but he admits he’s mostly oblivious to mainstream music and charts, having always been more interested in what came before.

“I have nothing to do with mainstream music,” he admits, almost guiltily, before leaving the interview to travel to his gig. “I don't think I consider myself necessarily mainstream either. I've never been a fan of anything mainstream. I've always been an obsessed person, going back in time. Even in modern music, I've listened to the alternative. I guess that's just the way my brain was wired.”