A country singer with a small-town work ethic and rock & roll swing, Jake McVey was born in Washington, Iowa. His family, who supported themselves as farmers, lived in Cedar Rapids, Iowa City, and Burlington in his youth. McVey grew up in a musical household -- his father played drums, his mother played piano, and the family's stereo played everything from the Beatles to Johnny Cash. McVey began playing music when he was nine years old. His first instrument was the bass, and McVey moved on to keyboards and drums before finally settling on guitar. By the age of 11, McVey had landed his first paying gig and was playing local events with his group. After he graduated from Mediapolis High School in 1999, McVey moved to Phoenix, Arizona, where he studied building stringed instruments. At the age of 19, he decided to make music his career and pulled up stakes, heading to Nashville, Tennessee. While McVey had established a growing business building guitars, his love of performing won out, and in 2006 McVey released his first album, Unknown Highway. Anything Is Possible followed in 2009, and the seven-song EP Best Years of Our Lives was released in 2014. By this time, McVey had become a seasoned live act, performing up to 300 shows a year, opening for major stars such as Jason Aldean, Dierks Bentley, and Little Big Town, and playing a ten-day stand at the 2015 Iowa State Fair. In 2016, McVey released the single "Y'all Girls," which became his radio breakthrough, giving him his first placement on the Country Singles charts. As the single gained traction, McVey included the tune on a five-song EP of the same name. ~ Mark Deming