Jake Krack (born 1984) son of Reed and Dara Krack, is a prominent young old-time fiddler and fiddle teacher from Nicut in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

West Virginia West Virginia is a mountainous U.S. state, state in the Southern United States, Southern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States.The United States Census Bureau, Census Bureau and the Association of American ...

. He began fiddling at age six
or eight. His teachers include Bobby Taylor, Lester McCumbers,

Melvin Wine Melvin Wine (April 20, 1909 – March 16, 2003) was an American Appalachian fiddler from the state of West Virginia. He was a lifelong resident of Copen, in Braxton County, West Virginia. Early life Wine was born in Burnsville, West Virginia ...

, Brad Leftwich, Joe Thompson, Wilson Douglas, and Glen Smith.

Musical career

He received a B.A. degree from

Berea College Berea College is a private liberal arts work college in Berea, Kentucky. Founded in 1855, Berea College was the first college in the Southern United States to be coeducational and racially integrated. It was integrated from as early as 1866 ...

in Kentucky in 2007, where his friends called him "Jack". He has had two internships: at the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums, Education center, education and Research institute, research centers, created by the Federal government of the United States, U.S. government "for the increase a ...

with music archivist

Jeff Place Jeff Place (born 1956) is the American writer and producer, and a curator and senior archivist with the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage. He has won three Grammy Awards and six Indie Awards. Early life Place learned his appr ...

and with the West Virginia Humanities Council, working on the Mountain Music Heritage Project. Krack performed on the ''

A Prairie Home Companion ''A Prairie Home Companion'' was a weekly radio variety show created and hosted by Garrison Keillor that aired live from 1974 to 2016. In 2016, musician Chris Thile took over as host, and the successor show was eventually renamed ''Live from He ...

'' radio program in 1998, and on the ''

Mountain Stage ''Mountain Stage'' is a two-hour music radio show, first aired in 1983, produced by West Virginia Public Broadcasting and distributed worldwide by National Public Radio (NPR). Hosted by Larry Groce from the show's inception until 2021 and curr ...

'' radio program in 2000. Also in 2000 he performed at the

Millennium Stage The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, commonly known as the Kennedy Center, is the national cultural center of the United States, located on the eastern bank of the Potomac River in Washington, D.C. Opened on September 8, ...

of the

John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, commonly known as the Kennedy Center, is the national cultural center of the United States, located on the eastern bank of the Potomac River in Washington, D.C. Opened on September 8, ...

. He performed at

MerleFest MerleFest is an annual "traditional plus" music festival held in Wilkesboro, North Carolina on the campus of Wilkes Community College. The festival, which is held the last weekend in April, was hosted by Grammy Award winner Doc Watson prior to ...

in 2002 and in the 2003

Smithsonian Folklife Festival The Smithsonian Folklife Festival, launched in 1967, is an international exhibition of living cultural heritage presented annually in the summer in Washington, D.C. in the United States. It is held on the National Mall for two weeks around the Fo ...

. He has won first place in old-time fiddle at the Galax Fiddlers Convention in

Galax, Virginia Galax is an independent city in the southwestern part of the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 6,720. The Bureau of Economic Analysis combines the city of Galax with neighboring Carroll County for statisti ...

(2003, 2006, and 2008), the Henry Reed Festival (2007), the Clifftop festival in

Clifftop, Fayette County, West Virginia Clifftop is an unincorporated community in Fayette County, West Virginia West Virginia is a mountainous U.S. state, state in the Southern United States, Southern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States.Th ...

(2006), the Mount Airy Fiddlers' Convention in

Mount Airy, North Carolina Mount Airy is a city in Surry County, North Carolina, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the city's population was 10,676. As of 2020, the city is the most populous municipality in Surry County. Mount Airy is located within t ...

(2002, 2004, and 2009), and the under-60 category at the Vandalia Gathering in

Charleston, West Virginia Charleston () is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in West Virginia, most populous city of the U.S. state of West Virginia. It is the county seat of Kanawha County, West Virginia, Kanawha County and ...

(2002). He compiled, arranged, and co-produced the 2007

Smithsonian Folkways Smithsonian Folkways is the nonprofit record label of the Smithsonian Institution. It is a part of the Smithsonian's Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, located at Capital Gallery in downtown Washington, D.C. The label was f ...

CD ''Classic Old-time Fiddle From Smithsonian Folkways'', and coproduced Lester McCumbers' CD ''Old Timey''. He was featured in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' in 1999 and appeared in the 2004

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

documentary ''Soundmix: Five Young Musicians''.

Discography

As leader

*''Second Time Around'' *''Hope I'll Join the Band'' *''Wire Fire'' *''Home at Last'' *''One More Time'' *''How 'bout that'' *''Git er Done''

With Todd Clewell

*''Jake's Ramble''

With The Hog Hollar Stringband

*''The Great Compromise''

With Doug Van Gundy

*''Two Far Gone''

Compilations

*''Oasis Acoustic: Volume 1'' (4-CD set)

Films

*2004 - ''Soundmix: Five Young Musicians''

References

External links

Jake Krack official site
October 10, 1999

Video

Clifftop documentary
featuring Jake Krack {{DEFAULTSORT:Krack, Jake Appalachian old-time fiddlers People from Calhoun County, West Virginia 1984 births Berea College alumni Living people Musicians from West Virginia 21st-century American violinists American male violinists 21st-century American male musicians