Jack Klatt

Musical missionary, tireless troubadour, and producer Jack Klatt isn’t one to be easily categorized or relegated to a narrow niche. He comes across as a young man with a wizened and worldly perspective, an artist who possesses a timeless sensibility of both place and purpose. Yet, his artistic integrity extends to more than simply his songs. It embodies both execution and intent... the way he’s mastered his deft finger-picking technique and used that sturdy approach to bring his material an authenticity reminiscent of the most revered musicians and storytellers.

A product of the nation’s heartland, Klatt was born and bred in the twin cities. He dropped out of college before spending the next six years pursuing his wanderlust and hitchhiking across the country with nothing but a backpack and a Martin guitar. He eventually made his way overseas, where he slept under the stars, traded songs for spending money, and enjoyed a life typical of one who’s a drifter and bohemian. All the while, he made it his mission to proffer the songs of the American masters, from Woody Guthrie and Eddie Cochrane to Hank Williams and Marty Robbins. In the process, he found himself captivated by the full gamut of archetypical American music — a singular style that encompasses folk, blues, rock, rockabilly, R&B, and arcane country — and began to refashion it to suit his own style.

As Americana Roots UK stated so succinctly, “Jack doesn’t rely on other writers for his diversity. He can write in pretty much any musical style of his choosing.”

”When I was very young and first becoming obsessed with music I got into punk rock and early rock n roll music, started forming bands with friends in junior high,” Klatt recalls. “All I really wanted to do was play like Scotty Moore, or Eddie Cochrane. I was always looking for who such and such a band was influenced by. The 14-year-old me loved Rancid, which led me to the Clash, which, in turn, led me to Bob Marley and Woody Guthrie. Social Distortion helped me discover Country Music. As I followed the threads of American music backwards, I wound up at the beginning of recorded music and the sounds of country blues, jug band music, ragtime, early jazz, and folk Music. I stuck around there for a long time, and learned how to play guitar. but eventually I began to get thirsty for something new and started to crawl out of my purist country blues corner… In a way this record is a return to those early rock n’ roll influences of mine. A kind of full circle back to the time when everything was new and fresh. It’s more honest than anything I’ve ever recorded.”

As he continued to temper his technique, he began writing his own material. Once he returned home to Minneapolis, he put together a band and began playing venues and festivals throughout the Midwest. “I met Jack and Page of the Cactus Blossoms right around the time I was getting into folk music about 10 or 12 years ago around a bonfire pit next to Cedar Lake in Minneapolis,” Klatt recalls. We have made music together over the years, and still do in fact. While hanging out, I’ll often roll out my song ideas to bounce off of them and vice versa. If it wasn’t for the Cactus Blossoms taking me out on the road as a solo opener, I wouldn’t have gotten to meet Alex Hall. Needless to say, those two brothers were a big part of the new record.”

In 2013, he recorded his first album, Love Me Lonely, a set of songs that found him mining his influences while honing a signature style. The followup, 2016's Shadows in the Sunset, recorded with Tom Herbers (Low, Trampled by Turtles, the Jayhawks) in a 100 year-old farmhouse in Viroqua Wisconsin, garnered rave reviews. No Depression hailed it as a beautifully done album of classic American music.”

City Pages said “Shadows showcases Klatt’s growth as a songwriter. The expansive and gilded country record is tender, thumping, and relaxed.” Klatt himself described the work by saying, “It holds in its grooves ten thousand miles of asphalt, about eight pairs of good shoes, and the generosity of a thousand strangers.”

In 2019, he signed with Yep Roc Records and released his label debut It Ain’t The Same to critical acclaim.  American Songwriter said it was “bursting with diversity and skilled musicianship.” No Depression stated “Klatt’s songs boast an almost visceral immediacy, as if created on the spot to capture memorable moments.”

In November of 2021, Klatt tapped Andrija Tockic (Alabama Shakes, Melissa Carper, Hurray for the Riff Raff) to produce his upcoming 3 song EP Edge of the End. It features an avalanche of talent including Jack Lawrence on Bass (Jack White), JJ Touriville (the Deslondes) on pedal steel, the virtuosic fiddling of Billy Contreras (Ricky Skaggs), and Alex Hall (JD McPherson) on drums.

Recorded at the analog dreamland known as the Bombshelter in Nashville, TN, the EP was released on Yep Roc records across all digital platforms on June 1, 2022.

Past Shows


Jun
21
st
2024
Turf Club
Jun
21
st
2024
Turf Club

Jack Klatt

in the Clown Lounge (Turf Club basement)

★ Local Show ★
with Becky Kapell and Paul Bergen
Jan
12
th
2024
Turf Club
Jan
12
th
2024
Turf Club

Jack Klatt

in the Clown Lounge (Turf Club basement)

★ Local Show ★
with Molly Dean
Jul
28
th
2023
Turf Club
Jul
28
th
2023
Turf Club

GA-20

with Jack Klatt
Jan
2
nd
2023
Turf Club
Jan
2
nd
2023
Turf Club

The Cactus Blossoms

January 2023 Monday Residency
with Jack Klatt
Oct
1
st
2022
Turf Club
Oct
1
st
2022
Turf Club

The Deslondes

with Jack Klatt
Aug
7
th
2021
Turf Club
Aug
7
th
2021
Turf Club

The Cactus Blossoms

with Jack Klatt
Jul
26
th
2021
7th St Entry
Jul
26
th
2021
7th St Entry

Jack Klatt and Buffalo Nichols

with Faith Boblett
Jan
13
th
2020
Turf Club
Jan
13
th
2020
Turf Club

The Cactus Blossoms

with Jack Klatt
Oct
12
th
2019
Turf Club
Oct
12
th
2019
Turf Club

Jack Klatt

with Brianna Kočka
Aug
31
st
2019
Schell’s Stage at Schilling Amphitheater
Aug
31
st
2019
Schell’s Stage at Schilling Amphitheater

First Avenue Goes To The Fair

Hosted by Mark Mallman and Lori Barbero
Afterparty with DJ Espada
with Al Church, Brother Ali, deM atlaS and more!
Feb
9
th
2019
Turf Club
Feb
9
th
2019
Turf Club

The Cactus Blossoms

with Jack Klatt
Aug
7
th
2018
Turf Club
Aug
7
th
2018
Turf Club

Kinky Friedman

with Jack Klatt
Feb
10
th
2018
Turf Club
Feb
10
th
2018
Turf Club

Erik Koskinen

with Jack Klatt
Jan
15
th
2018
Turf Club
Jan
15
th
2018
Turf Club

The Cactus Blossoms

with Jack Klatt
Jun
4
th
2017
7th St Entry
Jan
20
th
2017
Turf Club
Jan
20
th
2017
Turf Club

Jack Klatt

with Dusty Heart and Jake Jones
Oct
9
th
2016
Indeed Brewery
Oct
9
th
2016
Indeed Brewery

Indeed Brewing Company's Hullabaloo 2016

NO COVER
with Romantica, Jack Klatt, Southside Desire and more!
Sep
13
th
2016
Turf Club
Sep
13
th
2016
Turf Club

The Deslondes

with Jack Klatt and Esther Rose
Jul
1
st
2016
Turf Club
Jul
1
st
2016
Turf Club
May
20
th
2016
Turf Club
May
20
th
2016
Turf Club

Erik Koskinen

with Jack Klatt

More Shows

Jan
25
th
Turf Club

Terrapin Flyer

Nov
1
st
7th St Entry

Cancer Bats

Dec
15
th
7th St Entry

A Skylit Drive

Dec
8
th
First Avenue

The 45th Annual John Lennon Tribute

with Curtiss A with a little help from his friends