Jake Hertzog, assistant professor of guitar and Jazz Area coordinator in the Department of Music, has been awarded an $8,000 Practicing Artist Grant from Artists 360, a program of the Mid-America Arts Alliance. Artists 360 elevates the talented artists of Northwest Arkansas by providing grant funding and professional development opportunities to individual artists of all disciplines in the Arkansas counties of Benton, Carroll, Crawford, Sebastian and Washington. Along with the direct grants to selected artists, Artists 360 offers intensive professional development through cohort-based training, one-on-one coaching sessions, peer networking opportunities, retreats for participants and alumni, and an alumni showcase event.

When Hertzog found out he'd been selected for the grant, he immediately knew what he wanted to explore next. "My music has a lot of folk, rock and Americana influences, but I've never covered any songs in the folk or roots genre. I hope this album will allow me to explore this style of music more deeply and grow my artistry by trying to play versions of songs that are authentic to the source material while also consistent with the way I play."

Looking at the breadth of folk music and the songs that defined that style is inspiring Hertzog to focus on songwriters and composers from a different perspective. 

"I think my interest in the background for this project, an album of Ozark folk music, reimagined in a modern jazz style, is that I grew up with a lot of folk and rock music in the house, so I've always been influenced by those idioms in my own playing and writing," Hertzog said. "I'm really looking forward to the research phase where I'll be able to work with musicologists and current partitioners to guide my journey into the genre. Thanks to this award, I would love to also see this project develop into more touring engagements and collaborations with folk artists."

Hertzog feels the Artists 360 grant is a fantastic thing for all creative individuals in the Northwest Arkansas region and the state as a whole. "All artists seek to create and share their work, experiment, explore and connect. This program seems designed to help with all of those things."

To learn more about Artists 360 and the Mid-America Arts Alliance, visit artists360.art.