Kyle Jennings app for iPhone and iPad

American singer/songwriter Kyle Jennings arrived on the music scene in 2004 when his album “Shine” was released on Dark Horse Records Nashville. Out of the box Jennings music made an aggressive first impression likely due to cross-genre rock influences such as Journey, Billy Joel, Bruce Springsteen, and Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. A gritty mix of Americana, rock, folk, and blues influences and a deep-rooted traditional country stronghold have always been characteristic of Jennings musical style. Raised in the rich Midwestern culture of Michigans hard-wooded backcountry trails in a hard-working blue collar family Jennings was the youngest of 3 kids. Growing up his father Gary worked as a teacher and a home builder, and his mother Linda worked as a stay at home mom and part-time nurse. From his early teens Jennings spent his summers slinging lumber and building houses with his dad learning the trade of home construction and remodeling and spent the better part of his youth pursuing his passion for ice hockey. After graduating high school Jennings left his hometown of Comstock to play Junior hockey in Toledo, OH. From there he spent two seasons in Springfield, Illinois playing for the Springfield Junior Blues of the NAHL. Jennings spent three seasons traveling the US and Canada before a string of concussions led to an early exit of his hockey career and ultimately his return home to Michigan. Soon after returning home Jennings would segue his passion for hockey into music. Discovering an old Yamaha guitar underneath his grandfather’s bed where he was living Jennings started to teach himself guitar and began writing songs and performing. In a short period of time Jennings was entertaining crowds around southwest Michigan. Jennings began making trips to Nashville and in the summer of 2002 relocated to Music City. Once seated in Nashville Jennings began writing and performing frequently at the local honky tonks and worked as a bartender at the Wildhorse Saloon part-time to make ends meet. In the spring of 2003 Jennings was introduced to steel guitar whiz and producer Bruce Bouton and the two began work on Jennings first record. Immediately following the release of "Shine" Jennings took to the road with a focus of developing as a live performer. He would spend the next years traveling across the country sharing stages with acts from Hank Jr. to Styx, earning a reputation as a passionate and rambunctious high-energy live performer. In 2005 Jennings songwriting was recognized worldwide when his solo-penned “Can I Run in the Dark (and Still Walk in the Light) was selected as 1 of 15 finalists in the country category of the International Songwriting Competition, a massive competition that commonly receives 15,000+ entries each year. In the spring of 2006 Jennings began work on his ambition of establishing an annual music festival in his hometown. With 3rd party financial support he organized his vision and headlined the first ever Dark Horse Music Festival in downtown Kalamazoo at the Arcadia Creek Festival site, a large outdoor ampitheatre and entertainment facility. The event featured various local vendors selling food and drinks to the patrons and showcased a number of Jennings friends and fellow independent artists.