Milwaukee musician Jacob Slade releases indie-folk music that feels both intrinsically Midwest and uniquely his own. His music has drawn comparisons to contemporary folk artists such as Noah Kahan and Mt. Joy. The album most influential to him is Morning Phase by Beck, which after first hearing at 17 struck him as a sound he wanted to strive towards.
His new single “So Good at Forgiveness,” out Sept. 4, will be his fourth single release of 2024 and a part of his next album which is expected to be released within the next year. He has surpassed 140,000 monthly listeners on Spotify and continues to grow his audience from his home in Milwaukee.
Ahead of this upcoming release, MilMag spoke with Jacob Slade to discuss his Milwaukee influences, “So Good at Forgiveness” and his experiences as a DIY artist.
It’s time to pick your Milwaukee favorites for the year!
How did you first get into the Milwaukee DIY scene?
I first got into it post-lockdown, going to open mics and stuff at Bremen Cafe. Honestly, most people who I met and went on to play music with or just form friendships with, I met at Bremen Cafe. Through that, I met Parker from Social Cig and started playing shows with them. By the end of 2021, I was playing shows with Social Cig, going to open mics and playing Jacob Slade shows when I could. Just getting out there in any way possible and meeting people. I think that was where I originally embedded myself in the Milwaukee music scene. Now I am entirely focused on my solo work.
What is your favorite Milwaukee venue you have played?
That’s tough. Playing Summerfest was awesome, just because it has always been a bucket list show growing up around Milwaukee and going every year. Besides that, although it just closed, The Backroom at Colectivo. It was a special place, and I think they were very receptive to local bands playing there. It was just a cool space for local bands to play shows that had more of a professional feel. There are a lot of cool ones here but The Backroom has a special place in my heart for sure.
In what ways have Milwaukee and the Midwest as a whole influenced your music?
It’s hard to say anything exact, like picking out lyrics or things that would remind me of the Midwest, but I do feel like the general music culture here compared to bigger music scenes like Chicago or LA is a lot more slow-paced and that makes an impact. I’ve only lived in the Midwest, so I see being able to make that a part of my musical identity as a way to connect with other people. Just with my genuine experience growing up and living here, there’s probably stuff about (my music) that makes it seem like it’s from the Midwest that I can’t even see because it’s all I’ve ever known.
Your third album, Soft Spoken, was self-produced, is “So Good at Forgiveness” self-produced as well?
It is! I often work with my good friend Austin Wood who also played in Social Cig for a while and releases music as Blacktop. I often will record most everything and mix it, sometimes that’ll end up being the final product that’s on the album but sometimes when I’m kind of stuck I’ll bring it to Austin. He has a good knowledge of my sound and really good technical knowledge of producing, mixing and mastering. So mostly at home, and I’m grateful to have some good friends who have different strengths and who are willing to help out as well. And it really does come back around with that kind of stuff, it’s cool to be able to work on different kinds of music and just challenge yourself with working outside of your exact realm.
You described Soft Spoken as a “culmination of growing up,” where in that journey is “So Good at Forgiveness” placed?
“So Good at Forgiveness” feels most like a reflection of where I am right now. I turned 26 a couple of months ago and I think it’s a weird point in life where people are at such different points. Some people are deep into their careers and some people aren’t super ready for that. This song is just kind of an ode to that feeling and the feeling of friendships and relationships being strained just because people are doing different things in their lives. Lots of reflecting on and learning to forgive other people, but still being hard on yourself about a lot of stuff.
Your lyrics are very vulnerable at times, does this vulnerability in your writing come naturally to you?
I think it does. Growing up my family has always been very much like we talk about everything, even if it results in people getting upset with each other or whatever. But there’s always been that encouragement to be vulnerable. For me, it’s too hard to write something that doesn’t feel like the original, genuine thought.
Your music has made its way onto multiple editorial Spotify playlists such as “Morning Acoustic” or “Fresh Finds.” How was that experience for you?
It was really, really cool but surprising. From what I’ve heard from people around the music industry, getting on those is in some ways a connections game. Because, unlike the radio or Discover Weekly, it’s real people curating those playlists. But it was awesome and it’s definitely helped catapult my music to a larger pool of listeners. I think for a while I was like, oh my gosh like how? You know, I wanted answers for it. Not because I wasn’t grateful for it but just because it was like I just can’t believe this happened.
You’re pretty active on TikTok and Instagram Reels, how important do you think social media marketing is for an independent artist in 2024?
It ultimately depends on what you want to get out of it. For someone like me, whose goal is to continue being able to make a living off of music, I would say it is the top of the top of the list in terms of importance. I think when you don’t have a huge budget for stuff like shooting high production value music videos or putting a bunch of money into paid marketing, social media is the most effective tool to be able to start getting your music out there and reaching people.
What are you listening to these days?
Jack White released an album a couple weeks ago called No Name, I’ve been listening to that a lot. It’s really cool, kind of back to earlier White Stripes stuff which is awesome. Adrianne Lenker has also been a big one recently. Her most recent album, Bright Future, is one of my favorites so far to come out of 2024. And like the rest of the world, I have been listening to so much Chappell Roan.
