“They say things have to get worse before they can get better,†Idaho-born songwriter Eilen Jewell reflects on the last few years of her life. “And for a while there, everything got worse.†Indeed, in the span of just a few months, Jewell watched as her marriage, her band, and what felt like her entire career fell apart in a series of spectacular, heartbreaking implosions. By the time the dust had finally settled, the critically acclaimed recording artist was grieving and shocked, living in a remote cabin in the mountains and unsure if she’d ever get to make music again. Fortunately for all involved, especially fans of Jewell’s music, she took her time to regroup, recenter, and set off to live a renewed life—including making a new album—by dictating her own path forward.
With ‘Get Behind The Wheel’, her ninth studio album—out on May 5th via Signature Sounds—Jewell does precisely that, planting herself firmly in the driver’s seat as she picks up the pieces and finds new purpose and meaning in the process. Co-produced by multi-instrumental wizard Will Kimbrough (Todd Snider, Hayes Carll, Emmylou Harris, Rodney Crowell), the collection pushes Jewell’s trademark blend of vintage roots-noir into more psychedelic territory, with spacious, cinematic arrangements complementing her revelatory explorations of grief, loss, resilience, and redemption. Jewell has shared the first song from ‘Get Behind The Wheel’, the twisting and turning Crooked River.
“When the pandemic hit and my life fell apart, I spent a lot of time in the mountains of Idaho trying not to spin out too much,†says Jewell. She took to a guidebook of local hiking trails, exploring them one by one just for something to do. “On my way to most of the trailheads, I would pass a sign for Crooked River,†she recalls. “Something about that name kept calling to me, so I stopped and got out, and it became one of my favourite spots.†The song Crooked River was born from the long and arduous path that the river’s name evokes, becoming a symbol of Jewell’s personal trials and, ultimately, the salvation found in the company of her outdoor getaway. Her ode culminates in the song’s pleading refrain: “Wash my hands, wash my sins / Let me shiver in your ruthless wind / Take me down, take me in / Oh, you Crooked Riverâ€
Fans can stream or purchase Crooked River today HERE and pre-order or pre-save ‘Get Behind The Wheel’ ahead of its May 5th release HERE. The single has already been garnering attention from the likes of The Bluegrass Situation and NPR, who wrote, “Eilen Jewell strikes a balance between heartache and triumph.†Jewell has hit the road in Australia before heading back stateside for a string of east coast dates in May. A full list of tour dates can be found below or at HERE.
Following the Covid-cancellation of her 2020 Australian tour, Love Police is more than thrilled to present the return in 2023 of EILEN JEWELL and her incredible band for their first shows down here since 2018. With many shows set to sell out, Eilen has today announced two additional shows, including her first visit to the regional Victorian town of Yackadandah, where she’ll play the Star Hotel on March 5, and, on March 12 at the Brunswick Ballroom, a special show in tribute to her heroine, the great Loretta Lynn. Eilen notably paid tribute to Loretta, who passed away aged 90 on October 4 of last year, with the 2010 release of her ‘Butcher Hollar A Tribute To Loretta Lynn’ album, a complete album of songs written and first recorded by the woman whose life was made into the award-winning, box office smash film ‘The Coal Miner’s Daughter’ back in 1980.
In the 1960s and 70s, Loretta Lynn dared to write songs about topics that were widely considered off-limits, especially for women – songs like The Pill, Rated X, Fist City and Don’t Come Home A-Drinkin’ (With Lovin’ On Your Mind). A mother of four by the time she was 19, Lynn went on to become the most-groundbreaking female artist in the history of Country Music and sustained a hugely successful career for over six decades. In 2004 Jack White produced her Grammy winning ‘Van Lear Rose’, and her final album, 2021’s ‘Still Woman Enough’, featured duets with Carrie Underwood and Margo Price amongst others.
EILEN JEWELL on LORETTA LYNN:
“And so, a toast: to the woman with more banned songs than anyone can count; to that voice that reaches the very grain of the theatre walls around her; to our national treasure. Gratitude is not enough, so I sing these songs for any who will listen.â€
As the reigning Queen of the Minor Key, Eilen Jewell leads a tight quartet that blends influences of classic country, folk, and 1960s era rock ’n’ roll with touches of surf-noir and early blues and jazz. For a decade and a half, they’ve toured relentlessly for legions of fans from Boston to Boise and Madrid to Melbourne, playing large festivals, theatres, rock clubs, and coffeehouses, sharing stages with the likes of Lucinda Williams, Loretta Lynn, Mavis Staples, Wanda Jackson, George Jones, Emmylou Harris, and Blind Boys of Alabama.
This month (March 2023), Eilen and band back in Australia for an extensive East Coast tour that will take in theatre and club shows in Melbourne and regional Victoria, Sydney, North Coast NSW and Brisbane, as well as appearances at Port Fairy Folk Festival and the Blues Mountains Folk Festival.
Australia came under Eilen’s spell well ahead of most places, on the back of her intoxicating third album, 2009’s ‘Sea of Tears’. She toured here for the first time in 2010, on the back of that album and strong radio support for the album’s bewitching opener Rain Roll In. She returned two years later, following the release of her Loretta Lynn tribute album ‘Butcher Holler’ and the album from which came her sobriquet, The Queen of the Minor Key, and appeared at Bluesfest and on Rockwiz.
Returning to her hometown of Boise, Idaho after building her career from the unlikely country base of Boston, Eilen soon took time out to start a family. Tours in 2016 – following her album ‘Sundown Over Ghost Town’ – and 2018 – following her collection of rare blues ‘Down Hearted Blues’ – followed, and every time she paid us a visit, her ever-growing Australian audience marvelled at her warmth and sly humour as well as her smoky voice and superb songs, and of course the stormy performances of her band, featuring ace twang master Jerry Miller on lead guitar.
Now, we finally see Eilen and her band in Australian once more, belatedly touring on the back of her latest album, 2019’s ‘Gypsy’.
FOLLOW EILEN JEWELL
EILEN JEWELL & BAND
Australian Tour March ’23
Fri 3 – ARCHIE’S CREEK HOTEL, VIC w/ The ReChords
on sale now
Sat 4 – THEATRE ROYAL, CASTLEMAINE, VIC w/ The ReChords
on sale now
Sun 5 – THE STAR HOTEL, YACKANDANDAH, VIC w/ Pete Denahy
on sale now
Tue 7 – FACTORY THEATRE, SYDNEY, NSW w/ Lo Carmen
on sale now
Thu 9 – THORNBURY THEATRE, MELBOURNE, VIC w/ The ReChords
on sale now
Fri 10, Sat 11 – PORT FAIRY FOLK FESTIVAL, VIC
on sale now
Sun 12 – LORETTA LYNN TRIBUTE SHOW, BRUNSWICK BALLROOM, MELBOURNE
on sale now
Tue 14 – THE ESPY, MELBOURNE, VIC w/ The ReChords
on sale now
Wed 15 – ELTHAM HOTEL, NSW w/ JB Paterson
on sale now
Thu 16 – THE ZOO, BRISBANE, QLD w/ JB Paterson
on sale now
Fri 17, Sat 18 – BLUE MOUNTAINS FOLK FESTIVAL, NSW
On sale now
All info at https://www.lovepolice.com.au/tours2023/eilenjewell
Thanks to Dave Laing Publicity
