J. Plank is a BC-based, internationally touring singer-songwriter, masterful lap steel innovator, and multi-instrumentalist. With soulful vocals, deep-groove songwriting, and an unmistakable slide-guitar voice, Plank makes music rooted in blues, roots, and rock — built as much for movement and connection as for close listening.

In September 2026, J. Plank released “The Closer,” the first single from a new album recorded in the Netherlands with The Southern Aces. The record pushes deeper into groove-driven roots rock, pairing live-off-the-floor energy with inventive songwriting, fiery guitar work, and Plank’s signature lap steel. It follows 2025’s The Bend, a stripped-down solo album recorded on the Texas coast with little more than voice, lap steel, acoustic guitar, and piano.

“‘The Closer’ could be graded as one of the best JJ Cale tracks I’ve heard — by someone else, and that’s a big compliment. Wonderful track!!”
— Martin Donker, Coast to Coast, Netherlands

Plank’s songs and performances have taken him across North America, Europe, and Japan, with appearances at festivals, listening rooms, clubs, and songwriter gatherings around the world. His career has included numerous collaborations with Ruthie Foster and Ray Wylie Hubbard, a co-write with Miles Zuniga of Fastball featured on the band’s latest album Sonic Ranch, and a duet with Patty Griffin on his 2018 album Sleeping Dogs. He has also earned multiple Austin Music Award nominations and a win for Best Miscellaneous Instrument for “The Plank,” the hybrid lap steel guitar he designed himself.

"Texan Alt. Country Folk Rock Filtered through a Cool Canadian Copper Still (headline) "Alone At Sea" combines a Folk Singers’ poetic sensibilities with a razor sharp melody and an arrangement that will send a shiver down your spine the first time you hear it. Juggling Sand is a Stones alike constrained rifferama from either (or both) their Exile on Main Street or Goats Head Soup eras that went some way to defining modern day Rock and Roll, and this song could and should be a perfect fit for whatever claims to be Rock Radio in 2023." 
- The Rocking Magpie 9/29/23

"...not only will this material transport Plank around the globe, it also takes the listener on a journey — one you’ll be pretty pleased with no matter what mood you’re in. This is really good music"  
- Area Resident/Tinnitist 9/29/23

"...his distinctive voice & sparse instrumentation that’s actually layered tones that are subtle & border between the darker Bob Dylan tunes & the melodic meanderings of Tom Waits. Very likable because Plankenhorn is a careful distance from basic mainstream artists. He walks his own road & sometimes it seems he makes his own road."
- John Apice/Americana Highways 9/28/23

"Yes, it turns out that Plankenhorn has recently relocated to Vancouver Island. For his followers, who have long associated him with Austin where he  resided for twenty years, this is quite a change, and aptly the sonic territory is also new, still bluesy in a few spots but leaning more into a folk vernacular. His vocals here take precedence over his guitar mastery. The title track likely traces to the peace Plankenhorn has found in his new locale, as the protagonist learns to appreciate solitude rather than the desperation of being alone. It’s one “Plank” plans to offer in Spanish and French versions in November. Plankenhorn is not as easily pegged this time, indicative of an artist willing to venture into new turf - the brighter moments have staying power.” 
- Jim Hynes/Glide Magazine 9/28/23

"Plankenhorn’s journey from stressed daily life, to peaceful pause, to peaceful daily life, is brilliantly underscored by the changes in arrangements. From exotic and ominous to soothing and calming to triumphant and joyful, the musical score could tell the story even without words. But Plankenhorn’s lyrics add depth and charm and personalize this cycle of life that we all face. “Alone At Sea,” is the cathartic break we all could use when we’re feeling stressed."
- Brian Rock/Turnstyled, Junkpiled - Roots Music Magazine 9/28/23

"The real revelations here, though, are the title track “Alone At Sea” and “Bluer Skies,” which chime and ring with richly melodic guitars as they  
draw upon Plankenhorn’s natural charm as a singer."  
- Peter Blackstock/No Depression Magazine, 9/21/23