BAND BIO

The Jasper Stills is an acoustic duo that plays the hits with a splash of original flavor. Both members, Jason McKinney and Dave Brajcki, grew up in a suburb thirty miles from Chicago where they formed a band when they were just fifteen. Both are accomplished musicians with formal music training from a young age. Jason started playing guitar at nine and began studying jazz at fourteen. In 1999, he was recognized with the "Outstanding Guitarist" award at a Ball State University Jazz event. With various groups he traveled the country, enjoying playing music particularly in Las Vegas, California, and recording in Nashville, but despite this he decided that life on the road wasn't for him and that finishing college was his priority. Dave too began studying music at an early age. At twelve, he began studying classical music, playing the viola. At fourteen, he applied this knowledge to the bass guitar, which he played for several years and in multiple bands for which he supplied the super tasty funk bass lines. It wasn't until the age of twenty-two that he discovered his love for singing.

The two parted ways when Jason moved to Rochester, NY for college where he continued playing and studying music as a jazz minor. Dave continued to play with various groups until he met his future wife, who just so happened to live in Rochester, NY. The rest is pretty much history.

In November of 2011, Jason hosted a party where he and Dave spontaneously broke into a jam session/ sing along, about which someone later commented, "and this is why Dave and Jason should be making music." Just a couple months later, early 2012, The Jasper Stills went to the laboratory where they spent nearly a year preparing a set list and strategizing the integration of multiple instruments before hitting the Rochester music scene with full force.