Up-and-coming country singer will perform in Colfax Sunday

Jake McVey was just 9 years old when he began playing the guitar. Since the first time he picked up a guitar, the 28-year-old from the tiny southeast Iowa town of Olds has been chasing his dreams.

“I knew at a very young age what I wanted to do,” said McVey during a telephone interview from Nashville, Tenn. “Now, I’m getting to see some of my dreams come true.”

The dreams McVey speaks of include becoming a recording artist — he released his first album “Unknown Highway” to critical acclaim; touring the country singing for a living — he’s currently playing 300 gigs a year; and working with some of the biggest names in the country music industry — he has opened for Martina McBride, Dierks Bentley, Sugarland, Jason Aldean, .38 Special, Mark Chesnutt and Little Big Town.

McVey will make a pit stop on his way to the big time Sunday for a performance in Colfax. McVey will perform at 7 p.m. on Anspach Stage in Women’s Club Park.

“I feel like we are getting real, real close,” McVey said. “I am ready for this thing to take off. As crazy as things get sometimes I just hold on and keep going for it.”

After performing in Colfax, McVey has several shows during the Iowa State Fair and will tour the country with stops in Las Vegas and the red carpet at the CMA Awards.

“Sometimes it’s amazing all the stuff that’s happened. This has been quite the building year for me,” he said. “There’s a lot of new stuff that’s going on and it’s fun but there is nothing like being on stage.”

Although 2009 has been a good year for the young musician, McVey began playing professionally six years ago in an effort to supplement his income. He said when he realized his paid gigs and his yearly salary were about the same it was his ah-ha moment and he decided to try to become a full-time singer.

“Three years ago I was still working my day job in Iowa and then I realized that my paid shows were bringing was almost equal to my salary so from a business standpoint I knew if I was going to go for it, it was then,” he said. “So I decided to dive in head first and see if it was going to work.”