R.I.P. Jake Flint, 1985 – 2022

Oklahoma Red Dirt musi­cian Jake Flint, age 37, died Sunday, mere hours after mar­ry­ing his fiancée, Brenda. His long­time pub­li­cist Clif Doyal con­firmed to The Oklahoman [Sidenote: McDonnell, Brandy, “Oklahoma, Red Dirt singer-song­writer Jake Flint, 37, dies just hours after his wed­ding”, The Oklahoman, 27 November 2022] that the Red Dirt musi­cian died in his sleep hours after say­ing his vows.

Norman musi­cian Mike Hosty had pro­vided the recep­tion music from a ply­wood stage under a cir­cus tent as the rain came down. A few hours later, he received word that Flint had died. He was a singer-song­writer, through and through, and just a big per­son­al­ity, a big heart, and [he’d] bend over back­wards to do any­thing for you. When any musi­cian asks you to play at their wed­ding, it’s one of those most impor­tant days … and it’s always an honor, Hosty told The Oklahoman [Sidenote: Ibid.]

In a post on Facebook, Flint’s man­ager wrote, […] I loved [Jake] much like a son. The fun­ni­est, most hilar­i­ous, hard­est work­ing, ded­i­cated artist I have ever worked with in my career. Musician Dylan Stewart wrote For some­body who con­sid­ers them­selves a word­smith, I sure can’t find the words. You were the great­est of pals, Jake Flint. Just the sight of your face brought the biggest of smiles to my face. I will surely miss you in this life old friend. And I will so very much look for­ward to find­ing you in the next.

Tulsa-based Flint grew up in Holdenville. He took up gui­tar when his father was diag­nosed with ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease. Unable to par­tic­i­pate in sports with his son, Flint’s father com­mis­sioned a pair of friends to give his son gui­tar lessons. [Sidenote: Ibid.]

Flint released four albums and was named Breakout Artist of the Year at the We Are Tulsa Music Awards in 2019. He played the Woody Guthrie Folk Festival in 2017, 2019, 2021, and 2022.

The cause of death has not yet been released.