Jake Workman

Jake Workman began playing the guitar when he received one for his 13th birthday. His early music influences included his favorite classic rock bands such as The Beatles, Boston, AC/DC and Van Halen. Practicing for 6+ hours a day was not out of the ordinary for Jake. During middle and high school years he joined up with a couple friends and formed a rock band called “Wayward Son”. About a year and a half after he started the guitar, Jake’s introduction to bluegrass music came when his parent’s surprised him with a banjo for Christmas. Jake’s love for bluegrass grew over the next few years as he attended jams and festivals throughout the Western states and eventually the entire country. Jake began to enter instrument contests and has won many titles on guitar, banjo and mandolin. It was in 2007 at Winfield, Kansas while attending the National Flatpick Guitar Championship, that Jake met the other musicians that later would help form the band, Driven.

During that time period, at a jam session somewhere in Utah a talented fiddle player named Rebekah Travis caught Jake’s eye. By the time Driven played their first gig of 2011 Jake and Rebekah were married and she had joined Driven as the full time fiddle player.

Jake spends his time off stage teaching private lessons in person or online, transcribing music for students and doing studio work. He has a degree in Jazz Guitar Performance from the University of Utah. Jake was featured on the cover of the May/June 2015 issue of Flatpicking Guitar Magazine. Jake is most influenced by traditional bluegrass, but his playing will also showcase extensive knowledge in the rock and jazz genres as well.

In December 2015 Jake was called by Ricky Skaggs to join his band, Kentucky Thunder. In the Fall of 2016 Jake received the IBMA Instrumentalist Momentum award.

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