JACOB MILSTEIN

Singer-songwriter and guitarist Jacob Milstein playing guitar with his harmonica in his pocket

Singer, Songwriter, Performer, Poet

Mythic Americana, Folk, Soul Music

"Outsider folk for inner peace."
For live music at venues, festivals, and gatherings, email me.

Here are a few songs to start you out.


Old Timer - This is a song I wrote about a man who worked in the back of one of the last old country stores in Nashville. I lived down the block for a couple years, and I'd bring a plate over and eat lunch there more times than I could count. I moved away, and the house I used to rent there was bulldozed for a new million dollar bnb, and the store got sued by new Nashvillians for filling the neighborhood with the smells of bbq. They won, though.



Little Heart - An apology to my own heart, from which I'd become distant.



The Old Flames Look So Bright - We recorded this one with a studio band on a farm near Clarksville TN. We had to break for three hours to chase down some loose cows.



Bruitlyn - I guess this one's really about growing older, not who you thought you'd be, and there's this old love, gone, or actually died young, and her ghost becomes like your conscience. Anyway, I saw the name on a decal on the back of a truck.



Lucky One (live) - "If I sing, and oh, I love to sing, it may sound kind of like I'm crying..." Reminds me a little of Ringo, and I guess this is my way of saying that thing he ventured to say in With A Little Help From My Friends, or what John and Paul ventured to say through Ringo, their humble muse, the incarnation of the beatles in clay... that all I can do is to attempt an ode, and that even if I fail, I sing because I've been touched by you, and that was enough.

Poetry


The Glass Dagger - Hatred is a glass dagger. Revenge is a glass dagger. Domination is a glass dagger. And, belittling people for using a glass dagger is a glass dagger.


Find more poems in the highlights reels of my instagram.

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Press

LoudnessBlog on Old Timer
“Jacob Milstein is a songwriter and multi-instrumentalist … His latest single Old Timer is a warm empathetic portrait … The song took 20 minutes to write and was recorded live, retaining the magic of a rough draft that polished pieces so often lose.” (Loudness Blog)


CaesarLiveNLoud reviewing Old Timer
“Jacob Milstein’s smooth, evocative vocals are quite soothing … backed by intricate acoustic guitar and mandolin riffs that create an overall warm and intimate atmosphere perfect for an introspective day home alone.” (Caesar Live N Loud)


From Glide Magazine about his song “When the Sun Comes Up”
“Milstein’s soft-spoken vocals are as disarming and compelling as Jackson Browne while the minimal yet effective instrumentation and production put the listener right in the middle of his East Nashville living room.” (Glide Magazine)


From Obscure Sound, reviewing “I Want to Be Your Lover”
The track is described as “an inviting new track … Warming introduction … Soothing vocal layers … a sound with heartfelt nostalgia, and touches of Cohen and Lou Reed.” (Obscure Sound: Indie Music Blog)


A fan comment on “Christ on the Cross”
"If Lou Reed was in Bright Eyes and also a vampire."
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