Jake Owen

• Genre: New Country
• Hometown: Vero Beach
• Jake Owen Website

About

A self-taught country rocker, Jake Owen started dreaming of becoming a golf pro when he was 12. He was on his way to realizing his dreams -- even playing on the Florida State University golf team -- when a water-skiing accident and subsequent reconstructive surgery forced him to shovel his game and, instead, pick up a guitar. With his good looks and ambitious personality, Owen began performing country covers in local bars around Florida State, but he soon got bored playing other people's music. He began penning his own songs and was further encouraged by the positive response. Only nine credits short of graduating from Florida State, Owen packed up his guitar and headed to Nashville with a new found dream of becoming a country superstar. His rich, resonant baritone voice has the sound of fine-tuned country stars twice his age. Mixing down-home ballads with hard-rockin' country anthems, Owen's influences include classic artists such as Waylon Jennings, Merle Haggard and Keith Whitley. However, where these artists represented the classic country of their time, Owen is bringing a youthful image to contemporary country music.

- Jamie Sanchez