JASON RINGENBERG

Jason Ringenberg was born and raised on an Illinois hog farm that bordered the Rock Island Line Railroad. He left for Nashville on July 4, 1981, to pursue his dream of “making a band that could kick American roots music into the modern age!” Little did he know just how far the kick would travel. He immediately formed Jason and the Scorchers and never looked back. Throughout the 1980s and 90s they tore up venues across the planet and became known as one of the most exciting live bands in music. On classic LPs like Fervor and Lost and Found they “single-handedly rewrote the history of rock ‘n roll in the South” (Rolling Stone).   Their instinctive ability to combine traditional country music with high-energy punk rock has not been surpassed to this day. In 2008 they were awarded the Americana Music Association Lifetime Achievement Award for Performance. The band has an exhibit in the Country Music Hall of Fame.  

But Ringenberg’s story does not stop there. In 1992 the “Godfather of Americana” (Mojo) decided to go solo. He has released seven records, with everyone from the BBC to USA TODAY lauding his songwriting. Touring the world relentlessly as a solo barnstormer, The Times (UK) called him “one of the most exciting performers of his generation.”  In 2002 he created a children’s music character called Farmer Jason, winning an Emmy Award for his PBS program.    

In 2017 the U.S. National Park Service invited him to be their Artist-in-Residence at Sequoia Kings Canyon National Park. He spent a month hiking the mountains and writing songs. That explosion of creativity yielded two career-defining records: Stand Tall in 2018 and now his newest release, Rhinestoned.