Jacob Petersen spent the first 24 years of his life in Aarhus, Denmark. Although a late start on the guitar, at the age of 17, Jacob has quickly developed a reputation as a world class guitarist/musician. A move to the US to further develop his playing has led to gigs through out the US, Canada and Europe with Curtis Salgado, John Nemeth, Javina Magness and The Steve Miller Band. In his native Den
mark, Jacob was head hunted by Scandinavian BMG artist Henning Staerk and spent five years both touring and recording as a member of his band. In 1999, Jacob’s desire to further his development as a guitarist and a love for American R&B and roots music, prompted a move to the US. Jacob spent six months traveling across the country by Greyhound bus from north to south, eventually ending up in Austin, TX. While in Austin, Jacob befriended legendary Texas guitarist Derek O' Brien, who invited Jacob onstage to jam with his band at Antone’s. Jacob's playing that night caught the ear of bassist Roscoe Beck (Robben Ford, Eric Johnson, Dixie Chicks, Leonard Cohen). Roscoe invited Jacob to stay at his house for a couple of weeks. During this time Roscoe helped Jacob get a steady gig in Chicago through fellow bassist Felton Crews (Miles Davis, Charlie Musselwhite). For the next year, Jacob lived in Chicago, playing blues and R&B at the cities largest club, Kingston Mines. This 5 nights a week tenure helped him hone his skills as an excellent soloist and rhythm player capable of supporting the featured artist. While living in Chicago, Jacob continued to pursue his idol, soul singer Curtis Salgado (Robert Cray Band, Roomful Of Blues, Santana). Having very little besides the guitar on his back, Jacob made a ten minute demo at a local music store using a cheap, portable tape recorder. This simple recording was enough to catch the eye of Curtis' management; Jacob was hired for a two-month, national tour with only three hours of pre-tour rehearsal. Jacob continued to play with Curtis over the next five years, as his right-hand man touring through out the US, Canada and Europe. Steve was so impressed with Jacob's playing and feel on stage that he invited him to sit in at the Mandalay Casino in Las Vegas. Jacob left Curtis Salgado's Portland, OR based band to move to LA, joining multi Blues Music Award winner and Alligator Recording Artist Janiva Magness. Although Jacob had great success with Janiva, he left the band after just one year, feeling stuck in a genre with a somewhat small audience and limited opportunities to grow. Out of tough times and a bad economy, Jacob was forced to quit music in 2006. To make ends meet, Jacob started working car auctions in the northwest, but eventually ended up at Guitar Center. After almost two years at GC he had enough and made the bold move to relocate back to Austin, TX where he originally started out back in 1999. Back in Austin Jacob quickly got work as guitar player with the Hudson Moore band. Hudson Moore is an upcoming songwriter in the vein of John Mayer and Rob Thomas. Jacob played in the band just 9 month when he was head hunted out of nowhere by Steve Miller. Upon finishing a 2 month summer tour ending August 14th. of 2011, Jacob became an official member of The Steve Miller Band.
12/11/2024
