‘Beautiful Blue Collar Boy,’ or BabyJake, to play acoustic set at Zephyr Folk Festival

Coming off the release of his latest deluxe record, BabyJake is heading to the first Zephyr Folk Festival for an intimate, completely acoustic set.

Florida-born, Nashville-based alternative rock artist Jacob Herring (known professionally as BabyJake) released his fourth studio album, “Beautiful Blue Collar Boy,” late last year. The deluxe edition of this record, “Not So Beautiful Blue Collar Boy,” was released in February and features five additional tracks.

The vast majority of the album was recorded in Herring’s own house only a few months before release, which is usually how the fast-paced, quick turnaround musician operates. During this time, Herring was listening to a wide range of music, which can easily be heard throughout the project.

Most of Herring’s influences at the time came from the 90s and early 2000s alternative rock he was constantly listening to; bands like Wilco, Blur, and Pixies.

“I’m still obsessed with the ‘90s,” Herring said with a laugh.

But simultaneously, he was also listening to the folk and rock of the ‘60s and ‘70s along with more rootsy and recently released work from fellow musicians. Herring notes inspiration from the recent work of Canadian blues-folk artist Jeremie Albino, who he often comes across in Nashville.

It’s easy to hear the influences in his music from the fuzz-filled guitars and dynamic keys to the assortment of backing harmonies and brass.

Herring is constantly writing and has a massive backlog of songs he is simply “waiting for the right moment” to release, including plenty of never-recorded songs he plays at live shows. Because of this, some of the songs are years old (like “We, You, and I”) while others are relatively new, offering an abundance of subject matter.

“There’s no consistency at all, probably being broken-hearted, but that’s like every songwriter ever,” Herring said. “That’s nothing new.”

The general idea of the name “Beautiful Blue Collar Boy,” at least, stems from Herring realizing that he is “just a normal guy” who happens to be lucky enough to call music and songwriting his living. His father works as a seafood salesman, and when Herring isn’t doing music he’s working on other projects with his hands, so without this combination of hard work and luck he believes he’d most likely be working with his dad or as a contractor.

While most of the record features a wide array of instrumentation and electric energy, Herring will be leaving that all behind as he heads to Spokane and the Zephyr Folk Festival for a completely solo acoustic set full of unreleased and lesser-known music. He takes the stage 8 p.m. Friday.

Although unknown to most fans, Herring’s first releases were under his legal name and consisted of pure folk music over a decade ago.

“For me, it feels very natural because that’s how I started music, just me and an acoustic guitar,” Herring said. “If I just try to stay calm, I’ll just freak myself out and make mistakes, so the only way I know how to play acoustic and be honest with it is just to let loose and whatever comes out, comes out.”

Herring has acquired a strong Boise fanbase, one he’s especially noticed while playing at the annual Treefort Music Fest. Between playing in Boise multiple times and recently playing in Spokane, he’s taken in the music culture of both areas.

When it’s just raw vocals and an acoustic guitar, it doesn’t get much more honest and vulnerable than that.

“I think it’s more about what you’re portraying right now as an artist, and they really care about the music,” Herring said. “It doesn’t matter if you’re famous or not, it’s like, ‘Can he actually sing?’ “