Jacob Hackworth Talks Debut EP ‘What Took You So Long’ and Surprise Grand Ole Opry Invitation

Within the span of a week, Jacob Hackworth had two major career milestones to celebrate. On October 23, he released his debut EP, What Took You So Long, and just days later, he received the news that he would make his Grand Ole Opry debut in December.

Standing in the alley outside Proud Larry’s in Oxford, Mississippi gearing up for another tour stop, the rising star caught up with Country Now to reflect on the unexpected news of his Opry debut, what the opportunity means to him and the real-life stories that make up his new EP.

The release of What Took You So Long allows Hackworth to finally introduce himself to listeners as an artist after years of writing songs for other acts. The seven-track EP is built around a personal experience that changed the direction of his life. He went through a difficult breakup that ultimately pushed him to leave his hometown of West Plains, Missouri, and move to Nashville in 2019 to pursue music.

The idea to tell the events of his life as a concept EP came about after the rising star had already written the majority of the songs. After narrowing the project down to the seven tracks he felt best represented him and the kind of artist he wants to be, he began to notice a timeline connecting the stories.

“I might’ve not purposely been writing these songs to have them in this timeline while I was writing them, but I was writing them from a place of telling my story. And so as we put it together, I was like, ‘Holy cow’…As I’m placing these songs in numerical form of the seven days of a week, they were kind of fitting together.”

He didn’t originally intend to have a collection that told a complete story, that’s just what the project naturally evolved into. Once Hackworth had that realization, he felt strongly that it was “so necessary” to move forward with a concept EP.

“The heartbreak stuff always just sat well with me and I’ve been through my fair share and seen my fairest share in my life. So it’s something that always came easy to me and something I could discuss and talk about and never felt weird or anything about,” he added. “I got to put out some really cool music that I think is very fun, but it’s very true and heartfelt, and I’m just really glad how it worked out.”

Each of the tracks represent a different point in the aftermath of the relationship, starting with the initial shock of the breakup and the frustration Hackworth experienced as he wondered why it took his partner so long to call an end to their relationship. The title track introduces listeners to that moment and the pain that came with it.

At the same time, “What Took You So Long,” which is currently climbing the Top 35 on Country radio, carries a double meaning. While the song was originally written around the questions Hackworth had for his former partner, the title eventually took on a new meaning when his career reached the next level. It became a question he often heard within the music industry, with people wondering why it had taken him so long to release music of his own.

Although becoming an artist was always his dream, Hackworth spent years building his foundation as a songwriter before finally stepping into the spotlight himself.

“You have all these plans and you think everything’s going to go a certain way and it’s like, ‘I’m going to work my ass off and I’m going to achieve these goals and this is how it’s going to go.’ And once you get to town, you realize, ‘wow, I might’ve not known as much about this industry that I thought I did.’ At some point, at least for me, I had to just let go and just buckle down and do the things that I knew I could do because going and playing shows and chasing this artist’s career is very difficult.”

He goes on to explain that from the outside looking in, a career in music can seem very “lavish,” but upon getting to town, he realized that it’s actually a much more difficult ride. So instead of struggling to make ends meet by being an artist, he decided to write songs for free and continue doing what he loved through that avenue.

“Everywhere that I went, every hang or get together where there was a speaker, I could play my music and people, majority of the time would be like, ‘damn, that’s really good. Who’d you write that with?’ Or ‘who are you working with?’ And I was getting that question a lot, but I wasn’t Jacob Hackworth, the artist. I was the guy that was writing songs around town and playing rounds.”

Everything changed when Bailey Zimmerman cut one of the songs he co-wrote called “Rock and A Hard Place.” That song taking on such a major life gave Hackworth the opportunity to sign a publishing deal which also gave him the financial stability to continue writing songs while working toward his own career as an artist. This year, Jacob Hackworth signed a major record deal with MCA Records in collaboration with Goat Island Sound and finally stepped into the spotlight.

The story continues to unfold following the title track, with songs like “I Wanna Quit,” which finds the Missouri native still frustrated and struggling to move on from the relationship. Then he opens up about missing his former partner in “Bad As I Do,” leading to the late-night desire to show up at her door in “Last Night I Got Lonely.”

The perspective starts to shift with “First Friday Night” and “Help Yourself,” which marks a turning point in his healing process. The project closes with “Mess That Marlboro Made,” a reflective track that looks back on all the events that were all set in motion by one chance encounter.

Upon reaching the end of the collection, Hackworth recognizes that without that seemingly small moment in time, he may never have experienced the heartbreak that eventually pushed him to take a leap of faith and move to Nashville all those years ago.

For Hackworth, seeing listeners connect with his music and find their own meaning in his songs is the “biggest compliment” he could receive. He notes that while there are plenty of other ways to measure success in the music industry, the fans’ response is one of the most rewarding parts of putting his own music out into the world.

“I think if you can gauge your success, which is really hard to do because you want to be a million things in this industry, but if you can take a step back and be like, ‘Holy cow, this is working, people are getting what I got from music, from now my music,’ I think that’s just one of the most special things you can have happen in the music world for sure,” he shared honestly.

He recently received another reminder of just how far his career has come. On Oct. 27, Hackworth learned that he will be making his Grand Ole Opry debut on December 4.

Hackworth received the surprise news backstage at Red Rocks, where he was opening for Tucker Wetmore. Just before taking the stage, close friends and collaborators Vincent Mason and Wetmore helped reveal that he would be making his Grand Ole Opry debut. It was set up so that the artists believed they were asked to record liners for an upcoming show. He recalls his fellow acts messing up the first round of liners and cleverly playing it off as if they needed to try again.

“I’m like, ‘Dude, I suck at this. What are you talking? You guys have been doing this longer than I have. Come on, let’s go.’ The second round, I think I introed it. I was supposed to be like, ‘This is my good friend, Vincent Mason, and my good friend Tucker Wetmore.’ And then Vincent literally goes, ‘And December 4th is going to be a very special day.’ And I’m like, ‘Well, that’s not what you’re supposed to say,’ but I’m trying to keep it straight. And then Tucker goes, ‘And Jacob Hackworth…’ and I lost it. I laughed. I was like, ‘Haha, you screwed it up again.’”

Moments later, he was in complete shock as he heard Wetmore say, “Jacob Hackworth is making his Opry debut on December 4th.”

“I truly didn’t know what to do. And I’m looking around, and then it hit me where I’m like, ‘Holy crap, what?’ And I think I yelled. I don’t know what I did, but I’m hugging everyone, and then everyone’s clapping like, ‘Congrats.’ And I don’t know, I was in the basement of the Red Rocks until I was playing the Opry for the first time. So I mean, I didn’t really know what to do with myself.”

“It was the most insane feeling I’ve ever had to date. It was the craziest feeling ever,” he added.

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The “Bad As I Do” singer goes on to admit that he feels incredibly “blessed” of the places his career has already taken him and will hopefully continue to take him in the future.

“I’m very, very blessed to be doing this and doing what we’re doing, and I couldn’t be happier with the fans’ response to all the music. I can’t believe I’m getting to play the Opry this year…I’ve just got to do a lot of really cool stuff this year, and I’m very, very humbled and just very blessed and can’t wait to keep having crazy stuff happen. And it’s all thanks to my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and the amazing town of Nashville and my family has just been just amazing.”

Even with his debut EP out now, a milestone Opry performance a month away and more tour dates on the books, Jacob Hackworth is already working on new music to share with fans.