Jake La Botz at the Hook and Ladder Theater

“Hair On Fire” Album Release

Join us as Jake La Botz brings his world-wide tour to The Hook for the Twin Cities party celebrating the release of his new album Hair On Fire.

Born and raised in Chicago, La Botz spent his early days studying under the last of the city’s pre-war era bluesmen. He began releasing his own albums of roots-drenched music in 2000 and would go on to spend the next two decades amassing a litany of critical acclaim as he worked his way up from playing street corners and tattoo parlors to sharing bills with luminaries like Ray Charles, Etta James, Dr. John, and Mavis Staples. When he’s not on the road, La Botz can be often be found onscreen (he’s appeared in everything from True Detective to On The Road and even starred in the stage musical Ghost Brothers of Darkland County, written by Stephen King and John Mellencamp) or teaching meditation in prisons, Buddhist Centers, and living rooms around the country.

Balancing the wisdom and patience of two decades of Buddhist training with the grit and vigor of a rough and tumble Chicago upbringing, Jake La Botz’s captivating new album, Hair On Fire, is at once unabashedly vintage and decidedly present. The writing is raw and direct, cutting straight to the heart of things with honesty and urgency, and the performances are similarly unvarnished, fueled by lean, spacious arrangements centered around La Botz’s well-worn vocals. Add it all up and you’ve got a spiritually enlightening dose of American roots-noir from a master of the craft, an alternatingly dark and hopeful collection that wears its soul on its sleeve as it ruminates on compassion and vulnerability, strength and surrender, growth and redemption.

Over the years, Jake’s work has been praised by Rolling Stone, World Cafe, No Depression, Folk Alley, Atwood Magazine, American Songwriter, PopMatters, Glide, Bluegrass Situation, and many more.