Isaac Cole was first here featured shortly after becoming a Gretsch endorsed artist at the age of 14. Since then he gained national attention when he made it to the top 51 of Season XV of American Idol in January 2016 at the age of 15. He released his third album I’m Your Huckleberry in April of 2016 just as he was celebrating his 16th birthday. He co-wrote five of the ten songs on that CD which he co-produced with Kimo Forrest. It was his first CD combining both inspirational and traditional country music. He and his sister Mikayla Lynn recorded a duet on that album titled “Where He Needs Her” that they wrote with Nashville songwriter Corey Lee Barker in memory of their grandmother who passed away from breast cancer. In 2016 Cole and his sister won Vocal Duo Performance of the Year for that song at the Inspirational Country Music Awards. It was released to Christian Country radio and became Cole’s first song to hit number one on the Power Source Christian Country Top 100 in April 2017. In December of 2016, Cole was honored to be the second youngest solo artist ever inducted into the historic Wheeling Jamboree (the youngest was Brad Paisley). That summer he recorded a new single that he had written while in Nashville with JJ Como, Jami Grooms, and Alex Dooley called “Everyday Livin’.” He played every instrument on the recording except the drums–his now brother-in-law Austin Markle recorded those. On September 30, 2017, Cole was named WTAE Channel 4 Pittsburgh Idol at the Hard Rock Café in Station Square.

In June 2018 Cole graduated from high school one year early after being homeschooled since first grade in his rural northwestern Pennsylvania home. He has always been focused on pursuing music full time, so in August he spent almost six weeks in Nashville. While there he recorded a new single he wrote with WSM radio personality Devon O’Day. He won the opportunity to write with her in a songwriting contest held at the Smokin’ Hit Songwriters seminar he attended in fall of 2017.  That single was recorded in August 2018 with Jeff Bates producing, and is scheduled to be released early in 2019. In October 2018 he made the move to the Nashville area to network and co-write new music. His journey has been documented on his YouTube channel in a series titled “On the Road with Me and Mom.”

Cole is an active member of both the Tennessee Songwriters Association International and the Nashville Songwriters Association International pursuing opportunities through those organizations, and has performed several times at the Nashville Farmers Market.  He’s excited for his debut performance as a featured songwriter at the famed Bluebird Café in Nashville on January 20, 2019. Music is a journey, and it will be interesting to see where this journey leads, but he is thankful for partners like Gretsch to help him along the way.

Cole performs at festivals, churches, benefits, fairs, and auditions at every opportunity. Follow him at the links to stay up to date on his schedule and music.

Photos by Bev Moser.