Draft:The Bootstrap Boys

The Bootstrap Boys are an independent American country music band from Grand Rapids, Michigan. They have released five self-funded studio albums since forming in 2015.

2015-2019
The band was formed in 2015 with original members including Jake Stilson, Nick Alexander, and Joshua "Clyde" McBryde and later joined by drummer Jeffrey Knol. In 2020, Jonathan Bruha joined the band as the last permanent member.

Their 2015 debut EP, Country Songs for Sale, was a return to country music for lead singer/songwriter Jake Stilson, who described the experience as "quite a sojurn for me to make my way back around to playing country music again and to come to grips with that being okay.".

The Bootstrap Boys first full length album, All Boots Aboard followed later in 2016. Described as "vintage, outlaw-styled country," the album would gain the band accolades from local indie radio station WYCE and later win a Jammie award for Best Americana/Roots album of 2016.

The Bootstrap Boys toured steadily after their first releases, including slots at Wheatland Music Festival, Cowpie Music Festival, and Thunder Bay Folk Festival. They found support from their local music scene in West Michigan where they were given the opportunity to support acts such as Shooter Jennings, Sarah Shook & the Disarmers , and Lost Dog Street Band.

In 2019 they returned to the studio to record their second full length album, Between the Hat & the Boots at Cold War Studios in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

The album included a single recorded for the annual Artprize competition, originally named 90 Proof. The track title was later changed to Strong Drinks for Heavy Hearts, a reference to the Bible verse Proverbs 31:6-7 "Give strong drink to him that is ready to perish, and wine unto those that be of heavy hearts."

The album also included a cover of Woody Guthrie's anti-fascist anthem You Fascists Bound to Lose, titled as All You Fascists (Bound to Lose) on the Bootstrap Boys record.

2020-2021
After the album's release, the band's original bass player decided to part ways with the band and within a few months the entire world was locked down due to COVID-19. The band reformed in late 2020 with Jonathan Bruha on electric bass and began work on what would become their 2021 EP, New Beginnings.

Recorded at the oldest studio in Grand Rapids, River City Studio, this six-track effort included a collaboration with the Grand Rapids Symphony. The New Beginnings EP was met with critical acclaim as a more "grown up version" of their style, which launched The Bootstrap Boys into the next phase of their career.

2022-Present
Between 2021 and 2022, Jake Stilson experience a creative growth spurt and penned 10 new original songs which would become The Bootstrap Boys third full length studio album, Hungry & Sober.

The album was recorded at yellow DOG Studios in Wimberley, Texas and was produced by David Percefull.

The album was described by The Alternate Root as "Country music ripe or scoring a late '70s car chase and Saturday nights at the bar movies. Films like Smokey and the Bandit or Every Which Way but Loose had Country Rock heavy soundtracks, music reminiscent of what Michigan band The Bootstrap Boys are doing on Hungry and Sober."

Described by Jake Stilson as "sincere ruminations on family and queer identity", the release of Hungry & Sober led him to come out publicly as a member of the LGBTQ+ community and identify with the queer country subgenre of country music.

The band's non-conforming brand of country music would catch the attention of nationally recognized Americana acts such as Cracker, whose front man David Lowery described the band as "weird country." In 2023 The Bootstrap Boys were invited to support Cracker at Knucklehead's Saloon in Kansas City, MO for the 30th Anniversary of their seminal album Kerosene Hat.

In spring of 2023, The Bootstrap Boys commenced on their first headlining tour of the United States. The Hungry & Sober Tour made stops at legendary venues such as Duke's Honky-Tonk in Indianapolis, IN, Dee's Lounge in Nashville, TN, WDVX in Knoxville, TN, and Off Broadway in St. Louis, MO.

Musical Style & Influences
The Bootstrap Boys musical style has been referred to as country music, and it's subgenres Americana music , country rock , bluegrass , vintage country , honky-tonk , country folk, outlaw country , and cowpunk.

In a 2021 interview with Local Spins journalist John Sinkevics, band leader and songwriter Jake Stilson described his influences as being "the likes of Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Flatt & Scruggs, and Colter Wall." In an earlier 2015 interview with the same publication, Stilson describes his views the Hank Williams song catalog as being "like the Bible."

Critically, Stilson's vocal stylings and the band at large have been compared to contemporary acts such as Sturgill Simpson, and many country music legends such as Willie Nelson, Bob Wills, and Waylon Jennings