Joel Rakes

Who is Joel Rakes?

Joel Rakes is an American singer-songwriter and musician based in Nashville, Tennessee. Rakes first began releasing his music independently on his own, starting with 2005 release Third Person Present Tense. His 2008 sophomore release was entitled A Sudden Change in the Atmosphere. Rakes' most recent production, The Philadelphia Session live EP, was released on February 16, 2010.

According to sleeve notes, The Philadelphia Session was recorded at Range Recording Studios in Ardmore, PA. It was recorded on August 16, 2009 over the course of only five hours. This was accomplished by tracking all six musicians live in studio.

Rakes has a very original twist to his music. This can be seen on A Sudden Change in the Atmosphere, where he puts to use his full repertoire of instrumentation and his vocal capabilities. Some of his earlier lo-fi demos featuring just his guitar and vocals speak just as clearly and show his talent just as well as full-band studio recordings. Rakes has released very well-accepted free Christmas songs on his website in recent years.