Eilen Jewell

Eilen Jewell returning to Oz

by Dave Laing

Published in Trad&Now 153 December 2022

Following the Covid-cancellation of her 2020 Australian tour, Love Police is more than thrilled to announce the return in 2023 of Eilen Jewell and her incredible band for their first shows down here since 2018.

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.

March 2023 will see 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, Canberra, 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.

March 2023 will finally see Eilen and her band in Australian once more, belatedly touring on the back of her latest album, 2019’s Gypsy.