Jake Howard
Jake Howard offers a promising and captivating preview for the future of mandolin. His career has evolved from hours hunched over YouTube and sticky-floored bar gigs to his roles now as the mandolinist for the Henhouse Prowlers and Westbound Situation. Starting at the age of fifteen, Jake found himself enamored with roots music. Less than three years after he first started playing his Kentucky A-style mandolin, Jake began studying with another idol and future mentor, Joe K. Walsh, at the Berklee College of Music, ultimately graduating with a B.A. in Performance and American Roots Music.
Jake’s playing has a distinctive curiosity, always looking for more. His mandolin is first and foremost a tool of emotional expression where he can examine the relationship between roots music and intense sentiment. Through this pursuit, Jake was essential in the creation of multiple groups, most notably, the Page Turners which carried him across much of the US on a consistent string of tours and earned the Freshgrass Best Duo Award in 2016. Following this, Jake joined the Henhouse Prowlers and quickly found a new space for growth, exploring various styles of world music through a bluegrass lens.
“I first heard friend and mentor Joe K. Walsh play his Northfield Archtop Octave and fell in love with the sound. What I didn’t know was just how responsive it would be. Whether it’s on stage, in the studio or in the living room it never sounds bad. Whatever Northfield is doing over there is magic. It’s hard to put it down once I pick it up!”
