Jutt Huffman: How a Stolen Tip Bucket and a No-Show Gig Forged a Decade-Long Nashville Career

As a part of our interview series with leaders, stars, and rising stars in the music industry, we had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Jutt Huffman.

Originally from a small town in Ohio, Jutt Huffman spent a decade in Nashville playing at every honky-tonk you can think of. As a relatively underground artist/songwriter, Jutt is known for his unique style of blending country, rock ’n’ roll, and reggae music, and is currently paving his way to a monumental breakthrough.

With an unmatched talent playing acoustic rhythm & lead guitar, Jutt pumps up a crowd and keeps the party going! Jutt’s soulful voice and HIGH ENERGY has also established him as a sought- after party starter by sharing shows and stages with Josh Turner, Craig Campbell, Tracy Byrd, Drake White, Uncle Kracker, Gavin Degraw, The Band Perry, Ryan Hurd, Brooke Eden, Keb ‘Mo’, Craig Morgan, Chris Weaver Band, Joey Degraw and many more.

Jutt has been touring all over America and has managed to gain over 21,000 followers worldwide. After releasing a self-recorded album in 2015, “Jutt LP”, he has been behind the scenes temporarily honing in on his writing and production skills. In the meantime, he has written songs for many other independent artists and is releasing a country music single called “Today We Drink” on March 3rd, 2023.

Also projected to be released in 2023, Jutt’s current project is a 12 song LP of self-written country songs with a rock and good time feel to them.

With a voice that is captivating, a talent that will BLOW YOUR MIND, and an energy that will pep up your spirit, Jutt is an artist you can’t help but love. Whether its solo, duo, trio, or full band, do not miss an opportunity to see Jutt Huffman perform live!

Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Before we dive in, our readers would love to learn a bit about your “origin story”. Can you tell us the story of how you grew up?

Hi, thanks for having me. I was born in Ohio and raised in the Village of Pataskala. My dad, brother and I listened to hair bands, Motown, blues, and occasionally reggae. I would steal away every chance I could to listen to Top 40 on the radio and would record the songs on cassette so I could learn the words.

Can you share a story with us about what brought you to this specific career path?

I bought my first guitar at the age of 13 by landscaping for five bucks an hour. My dad taught me the basic chords, 12 bar blues, and strumming and then I ran away with it. Around 20 years old I started playing guitar for different singers in bars and was writing and recording my own songs in my free time. At 23 I moved to Nashville and was blessed enough to start my full time career as an entertainer/musician/singer. After touring through West Palm Beach, FL for years I decided to move to South Florida in 2021 to focus on recording.

Can you tell us the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?

Around 2015 I was performing at Margaritaville on Broadway in Nashville, TN and a thief ran off with my tip bucket. I stopped mid song and chased him down the block, through the alley and back onto the street on the other side. I knocked the bucket out of hands, cash went flying everywhere, and he pulled out a knife. I felt relatively safe because we were no longer in the dark alley where no eyes were on us. Knowing that people were all around watching I scolded him and got most of my money back. I went back into the bar and the whole crowd cheered! Pretty wild right?

It has been said that sometimes our mistakes can be our greatest teachers. Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

Well, looking back it’s funny but it was really frustrating when it happened. Back in Columbus, OH I was doing my first gigs playing guitar with a singer. The sound system was mine so I would get there early to set up. After setting up and waiting for a long time I realized that he was not going to show up. The crowd was ready for music and I only knew how to sing 7 songs so i sang them. When I was done the crowd wouldn’t let me leave and had me sing them again and again. The crowd was the most enthusiastic towards me than I had ever experienced before. I made the most money I had ever made performing at the time and I realized that I have a voice and people enjoy it.

The mistake I made was relying on someone else to be able get through a show. The embarrassment of struggling to do the show by myself was enough for me to quickly put together a solo show which led me to where I am now. Whether I’m playing in front of 100 people in a bar or a sold out stadium you can bet your ass if the band bails on me I will still be able to put on a hell of a show!

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?

Easy, my dad. My dad taught me honest work by making me get a job at 13 years old to pay for a guitar (he actually matched me and paid for half of it.) He also got me my first gig for me. One thing he did that may be a controversial parenting move to some, is he told me that I can’t make a living playing guitar. He said I can learn guitar, have fun with it, master it even, but I can’t make a living at it. My pops knew that the more people say I can’t do something, the more I want to do it. I ended up doing just that and have been a full time entertainer since 2011.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

“Treat others how you want to be treated.” There are so many good life lesson quotes but this one has really kept me in my lane and has kept people that are a waste of my time away. Karma is real. Being genuine, honest and kind goes a long way and makes dreams gravitate towards an individual.

What are some of the most interesting or exciting projects you are working on now?

I love this question! So I’ve been performing 200–300 shows a year for over a decade. It has made it tough to stay focused on writing and recording. I still have written hundreds of songs and have recorded tons of songs as well but have not released nearly any of them. I released an LP back in 2015 but it was more of a self-motivated project to see what I could do mostly by myself in a real studio. Fast forward to now — I’m releasing my first single and have a whole lot of songs ready to get out there into the world.

The new single is called, “TODAY WE DRINK” and is clearly a drinking song. It is a catchy modern country production with a little bit of The Rolling Stones vibe on guitar and it switches to an island reggae vibe half way through the track. I’m really excited to get the ball rolling as a recording artist and can feel it in my gut that things are about to take off!

We are very interested in diversity in the entertainment industry. Can you share three reasons with our readers about why you think it’s important to have diversity represented in music, film, and television? How can that potentially affect our culture?

I don’t want to speak about film and television; I have not owned a tv in my adult life. But to my knowledge of American music, diversity in music has been around since the early 1900’s. Blues, jazz, and bluegrass were all created here with roots from Africa and Ireland. America is the “Melting Pot” of music. We are experiencing the greatest diversity of music ever in the history of the world and it is absolutely wonderful! Music is art and art is human. Each human has their own interpretations and their own expressions that can bring out empathy in others. Music is such a great way to capture culture and feelings and show it to others. It’s a beautiful thing and besides love, may be the most powerful thing on the planet. As long as we all have the right to listen to what we want and also have the right to record what we want, music shall stay diverse and keep expanding.

What are your “5 things I wish someone told me when I first started” and why? Please share a story or example for each.

I’ve been stuck on this question because I believe I was blessed to have the best advice from the beginning of my career. But here are a few things I’ve heard and have practiced over the years that can really help other artists at any point in their career….

1. Everyone has a different path. There is no right or wrong way to make a living in music. If anyone tells you that there is only one way to “make it”, just know that it’s not true.
2. Don’t cancel gigs. Your word goes a long way and pays off even more on the backend.
3. Be competitive. I know, it’s art and we’re all friends and we love each other… But if you’re not doing something to stand out from the rest of your colleagues then you are easily replaceable and have no job security. There are plenty of singers/musicians/songwriters that have completed 10,000+ hours in their craft. Whether you haven’t gotten to that yet or you have far surpassed that you need to keep working and creating to stay at the top of your game!
4. Learn from the best. Whoever your favorite artist/singer/instrumentalist is, try to do it like them. Be a music listener first and a music maker second. The best artist of all time started by mimicking their favorite artist. Eventually you create a unique style and it is all your own! And the fun really starts when you have your own style and can pick up new stuff to supplement it!
5. Keep doing what you’re doing. Or don’t. Do it completely different. If you’ve been kicking ass and feeling like you’re getting ahead then keep doing it! Something bigger is bound to happen… But if you’re getting jaded and feeling like you’re at a dead end then it’s probably time for change and to re-focus your effort: Find new gigs, try new gear, make a different setlist, do some gigs with no setlist, move to a different city, get a new band, write with new people, start learning a new craft that is related to your talent, try drinking, try sobering up, get in the gym, go camping, start listening to a different genre of music, maybe even just take a break from music in general for a little while. I’ve seen so many people dominate the scene and after some time get feeling down and give up and disappear. Quitters never win.

Which tips would you recommend to your colleagues in your industry to help them to thrive and not “burn out”?

You have to “jump off the cliff” at some point. Forget any security you have and try something new. It’s easy to be afraid of failure and it’s hard to try something new. But it is even harder to sit back and think of “what if”.

You are a person of enormous influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. :-)

All i really know is hard work and music so inspiring a movement sounds wild to me. I’ve been wanting to start a non-profit to help underprivileged kids acquire instruments and lessons. Other than that I just want to spread love and kindness. You get what you give!

Is there a person in the world, or in the US whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this, especially if we tag them. :-)

Bob Dylan or Willie Nelson… Both of these guys are prolific writers and carved their own paths. They both have went against the grain fought the system in their own way. They’ve experienced everything there is to experience in the music industry and are still living to tell about it. It would be so incredible to even get to have a short conversation with either of these legends!

How can our readers follow you online?

I’m not the best at it but I try to keep up with my social media accounts weekly and get back to messages as quickly as I can

This was very meaningful, thank you so much! We wish you continued success!

It was a privilege to talk with you, thanks!