Categories:
Cart 0

Your cart is empty

Eilen Jewell

Eilen Jewell has built her career on smart, lyrical storytelling and a rich sonic amalgam of folk, country, blues, early rock, surf, and other American traditions. The Idaho native made her debut in Boston where she was signed to her longtime label, the Massachusetts-based Signature Sounds. Albums like 2007's Letters from Sinners & Strangers and 2011's Queen of the Minor Key drew critical acclaim and comparisons to artists like Gillian Welch, Jolie Holland, and Lucinda Williams, but Jewell's dark-hued pastiche of styles was her own signature blend. Her 2015 standout, Sundown Over Ghost Town, coincided with her return to Idaho and she continued to produce high quality works like 2019's Gypsy and 2023's resilient and psychedelic-leaning Get Behind the Wheel. Born and raised in Boise, Idaho, Jewell began piano lessons at the age of seven and picked up the guitar when she was 14. Early on, she fell under the spell of legends like Bessie Smith, Billie Holiday, Howlin' Wolf, and Bob Dylan. She began her music career while attending St. John's College in Santa Fe, busking at farmers' markets and playing local bars. After a stint in Los Angeles, she relocated cross-country to Boston where she threw herself into the local music scene. Jewell's first release was a live 2005 demo album called Nowhere in No Time, which helped pave the way for her self-released studio debut, Boundary Country, a year later. The album was a critical success, introducing fans to her particular strain of lonesome noir-Americana and helping her earn a contract with established Massachusetts indie label Signature Sounds. Her first outing for the label was 2007's Letters from Sinners & Strangers, followed a year later by an eponymous release from her side project the Sacred Shakers. Two more solo albums, 2009's Sea of Tears and 2011's Queen of the Minor Key (as well as a 2010 Loretta Lynn tribute album), appeared in quick succession as Jewell ramped up her already rigorous touring schedule to include dates in Europe and Australia. This intense period culminated in the 2014 live double-album Live at the Narrows, a self-released set captured at Narrows Center for the Arts in Fall River, Massachusetts. Though still based in Boston, Jewell's home for many years had largely been the road and prior to her next release, she decided to move back to Boise. This life change was reflected on her fifth LP, 2015's Sundown Over Ghost Town. Released two years later, Down Hearted Blues saw her indulge her passion for vintage blues with covers of a dozen of her favorites in the genre. She returned in 2019 with Gypsy, a collection of original songs with a political undercurrent. Over the next few years, Jewell's life underwent a sea change. The breakup of her marriage and dissolution of her band, not to mention the COVID-19 quarantine, sent her reeling into a remote cabin in rural Idaho. As the dust began to settle, she found that the songs she was writing were more hopeful than heartbreaking, and she felt a new sense of control and purpose. The resulting album, the loosely psychedelic Get Behind the Wheel, arrived in May 2023.
© Timothy Monger & Steve Leggett /TiVo
Listen

Similar artists

Wild Ponies
Amy Black
Richmond Fontaine
The Be Good Tanyas
Elizabeth Cook
Lucinda Gayl Williams
The Highwomen
April Verch
Nikki Lane
Turnpike Troubadours
Jolie Holland
John Moreland
Diana Jones
Buddy & Julie Miller
Sue Foley
Dave Rawlings Machine
Natalie Hemby
Margo Price
Whitehorse
Shannon McNally
Giant Giant Sand
The Deslondes
H.C. Mcentire
John Robert Moreland
Dori Freeman
Chuck Mead
Mary Gauthier
Katie Pruitt
RAY WYLIE HUBBARD
Reckless Kelly
The Secret Sisters
The Black Lillies
Sara Watkins
Lucinda Williams
Gillian Welch
Kacy & Clayton
Caroline Spence
Samantha Crain
Giant Sand
Frazey Ford
Brandi Carlile
Amanda Shires
Petra Haden

Discography

20 album(s) • Sorted by Bestseller

My favorites

Cet élément a bien été <span>ajouté / retiré</span> de vos favoris.

Sort and filter releases