ROCK-the-DOCK 2022 #4

Jake Kulak

Jake Kulak picked up a guitar at age 11 and instinctively knew what to do with it. Within a couple of months he was playing at open jams in the CT blues and jazz scene. At age 13 he made the first of many trips to Memphis where he played in clubs on Beale Street as part of the International Blue Challenge Youth Showcase, and to Clarksdale, MS where he attended the Pinetop Perkins Masterclass in Guitar, learning from living blues legends like Bob Margolin. He was also recognized with a merit scholarship by the Honeyboy Edwards Fund for the Blues at the National Blues Museum. Several years later Jake was playing 60+ professional gigs a year, all while still attending High School. Locally he has studied with CT guitar legend Frank Varela and Jake is currently attending the Berklee College of Music in Boston where he has studied with Thaddeus Hogarth. He can play solo acoustic, solo electric or rock out with his full band.The band represented CT for 4 years at the International Blues Challenge Youth Showcase in Memphis, TN. In 2018 they won the CT Blues Society Band Competition and performed at the International Blues Challenge in Memphis in 2019. They have also been nominated for a New England Music Award in the "Best New Act of the Year” category and were one of 6 Boston-area bands to win the the House of Blues emerging artist competition. The Jake Kulak band currently features AJ Lippo on bass and Jeremy Peck on drums.

My original song 'Get Faded (And Go)':