When Jake Thistle was just three years old, his parents brought him in to watch the Super Bowl, thinking he might become interested in playing football one day. What they didn’t expect was that the music he heard that would inspire him in another way.
The halftime show that year, in 2008, featured Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, and watching them play was all it took for Thistle to become obsessed with music. Soon, he began listening to the Beatles and Eric Clapton on his own—any rock music he could get his hands on.
By nine years old, he had acquired his first guitar and learned how to play, and as a teen, he began performing in bars near his home in Paramus and busking in downtown Ridgewood. His parents, Greg and Jill Thistle, who are devoted to helping their son in his music career, were happy to drive him around.
Thistle says he’s “hopeful” about his chances on “American Idol.” Photo: Chris Buck
Now, Thistle, a rising singer/songwriter, has his biggest audience yet, appearing on this season of American Idol. He’s already made it through to the Hollywood round of season 24, and is a Top 30 contestant—out of tens of thousands of applicants. Live fan voting starts after the Top 20 are chosen by superstar judges Luke Bryan, Lionel Richie and Carrie Underwood, with help from special guests.
“I’m super excited about being on the show and getting to reach a bigger audience,” Thistle tells New Jersey Monthly. “I’ve been songwriting for so long, but my favorite thing is to play for an audience. I’m definitely hopeful, but I really want to have fun and be as authentic as I can be.”
For his American Idol audition in Nashville, he sang “Can’t Find My Way Home” by Blind Faith. The judges loved it.
Thistle, 22, graduated early from Rutgers University in December with a double major in communications and journalism. His music is classic rock with a modern pop sensibility—think Bruce Springsteen with a little Jack Antonoff thrown in. His other influences include Sam Fender and the War on Drugs.
“Growing up, it was always Tom Petty and John Hiatt—they were my big two,” he says.
Thistle has already worked with acclaimed musicians and has appeared on bills with Jackson Browne, Stevie Nicks, Foo Fighters and Steve Earle. He’s known for his covers of Petty and Springsteen, and has played in noted venues such as the Stone Pony and the Wonder Bar in Asbury Park and the Count Basie Theatre in Red Bank. This winter, he toured in Europe as part of the Light of Day Foundation’s 15th anniversary tour.
Photo: Chris Buck
While Thistle already has a big following for someone so young and was named a rising music star by the Boston Herald, he’s modest and understated in person and is eager to learn from those who are more experienced in the music industry.
His parents and biggest fans drove him to gigs three or four times a week throughout middle school and high school.
“He’s always been super passionate about music,” says his father, Greg. “When he was 12, America’s Got Talent called and asked him to come on their show, and he said, ‘No, I want to wait until I’m an adult.’ ”
Thistle was signed by Jersey-based Gold N Retriever Entertainment in early 2023 after founder Joe Riccitelli, a music-industry veteran, heard him perform on a Springsteen radio show on 107.1 FM. “I heard Jake on that show when he was still in high school, and I really loved his vocals and his songwriting,” he says.
Thistle released his first solo LP, Down the Line, during Covid; he recorded it in his bedroom. His first EP, The Half Left Out, was released in 2023. If Thistle wins Idol, he’ll be signed to Atlantic Records and get $100,000. Riccitelli says he’ll continue to manage him.
His latest album, Sleep on Me, came out in February, and he plans to start touring later this year. “The record’s been a long time coming, in a great way. I’m really excited about it,” he says.
Thistle performs during Hollywood Week In Music City on “American Idol.” Photo: Disney/Connie Chornuk
Out of all the singers and bands he’s grown to love, whom does he most want his music career to look like?
“It’s very easy for me to just sit here and say Springsteen, because why not? Like anyone else in the world who wants to be an indie rock musician, he’s the one to emulate. But what I really want is to connect with as many people as I can,” he says. “I’m in it to be in it.”
Gordon directs and stars in the movie alongside Emma Mackey.
“Mom, thank you for driving me back and forth to New York when we didn’t have enough money to go through the Holland Tunnel,” he said.
