Biography

The Bootstrap Boys are no strangers to hard living. Hailing from Grand Rapids, Michigan, the group has been on the road for seven years and counting, bringing their hard-charging sound to honky tonks and bars in every corner of the country. Made up of lead singer and songwriter Jake Stilson (“Big Jake Bootstrap”), guitarist Nick Alexander (“Nicky Bootstrap”), bassist Jonny Bruha (“Jonny ‘Bubba’ Bootstrap”) and drummer Jeff Knol (“Jeff Bootstrap”), the Bootstrap Boys aren’t your average outlaw country band — they marry muscular guitar riffs and raw twang with leftist politics and a defiantly “y’allternative” outlook. Big Jake’s voice is by turns haggard and resolute, and his lyrics run the gamut from cheerily nihilistic road tunes to sincere ruminations on family and queer identity. With an SXSW debut and gigs opening for Morgan Wade, Shooter Jennings and Sarah Shook & the Disarmers under their belts, it’s clear these boys are only getting started.