WITF Music: Jake Mach

Exploring Roots, Music, and Traditions from Glen Rock to Nashville

• Joe Ulrich/WITF
  BioRecent Stories

  

  Joe has been interested in audio and music since he was a kid. What started as a fascination with his parents’ vinyl records and cassette tapes turned into a love of both performing and recording. He grew up in Elizabethtown, Pa. and moved to Pittsburgh in 1999 where he majored in Photography at the University of Pittsburgh.
  
  In 2004, he attended the Conservatory of Recording Arts & Sciences in Tempe, AZ. He returned to Pittsburgh to work at a recording studio.
  
  In 2008, Joe arrived at WITF, where his skills have found a good home as an on-air host, audio engineer and producer of WITF Music. In 2016, Joe earned a National Edward R. Murrow award for Best Use of Sound.

Jack Mach performs at WITF Music on November 24th, 2025. (Joe Ulrich - WITF)

Central PA country artist Jake Mach grew up in rural Glen Rock and talks about local traditions like the Glen Rock Carolers, a formal Christmas caroling group that starts singing at midnight and draws thousands. He breaks down the personal inspiration behind his song “Weekend Up in Heaven,” how it can be emotional to perform, and the artists and details that shaped his writing—like Keith Urban’s “Stupid Boy,” landlines, coupon cutouts, and his grandmother’s hot milk cake. Mach shares his approach to songwriting (mixing autobiography and storytelling) and what he thinks defines country music. He also talks about his years in the Navy and work as a surgical tech, and why he moved back to Pennsylvania. He won Best Male Country Artist at the 2025 Central Pennsylvania Music Awards.

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