Americana artist Eilen Jewell last visited our area in 2022, as part of a double bill with Chris Smither. Her absence has been felt by her devoted fans, who expressed their love for her during her recent appearance at The Hamilton Live. 

Jewell has a special connection to The Hamilton Live. It was there where her daughter, who is now 10 years old, took her first steps. Keeping it in the family, her daughter was handling merch table duties.

These past few years haven’t been an easy time for the Idaho singer-songwriter. She split with her husband of 10 years, Jason Beek, who was also the drummer in her band. When they separated, she spent some time on her own in a rural cabin, using the isolation to read and write. (I entertain fantasies of taking off to a small cabin in the mountains, surrounded by old, tall trees, and near a lake, where I can disconnect from the grid and read and write without the interruptions of modern life.) The result was her first album in four years, last year’s Get Behind The Wheel, which has the most personal, revealing songwriting of her career. (The title of her previous album, 2019’s Gypsy, she noted, “made me unpopular with the far left, and there was a song that made me unpopular with the far right.”)

Like many Americana artists, Jewell pulls widely from diverse traditions, which was reflected in the covers she played in the set at The Hamilton Live on July 25. There was “Dusty Boxcar Wall” by folksinger Eric Andersen, which she said, “I wish I wrote.” Jackie DeShannon and Sharon Sheeley’s “Breakaway” is a piece of vintage ’60s pop, most famously recorded by New Orleans R&B artist Irma Thomas. “I switched it up,” Eilen said. “I made it sad.”

Introducing “Could You, Would You?” recorded by Them (Van Morrison’s original band), Eilen said, “When I like a song I tend to want to recreate it, but with my own flavor.” (Both of these covers appear on Get Behind the Wheel.)  Creedence Clearwater Revival’s “Green River” she said, is “one of my favorites from the ’60s.” (I think it’s funny that when I first typed that out, I wrote “Clearance.”) She dedicated the second number in her set, “Crooked River,” to the memory of Moby Grape’s Jerry Miller, who recently passed away. (She clarified this is the other Jerry Miller, not her lead guitarist, as the two have been mixed up, which I suppose happens with a common name like Miller.) For her encore, I was somewhat surprised to hear the Doors’ “Soul Kitchen.”

Loretta Lynn is one of the strongest influences on Jewell, an influence Eilen honored by recording an album of her songs, Butcher Holler: A Tribute to Loretta Lynn, in 2010. Unfortunately, this excellent record is not easy to come by, but Jewell expects to reissue it in November. Eilen shared one of the songs, “Whispering Sea,” which was the B-side of Lynn’s first single.

Jewell kicked off her set with two songs from the latest album,  “Winnemucca” and “Crooked River.” “Winnemucca,”  she said “takes place not too far from here, in the Nevada desert.” I suppose whether something is “not too far from here” is relative; as I was recently discussing with some friends, this concept is quite different here versus in the Midwest or in England, which is the size of Minnesota (but with a lot more people, but likely less smoked fish). After “Crooked River,” she did “Rich Man’s World,” mentioning that it was “one of the first songs I ever wrote.” “Dusty Boxcar Wall” was followed by “Rain Roll In.” “I’ve been told it’s the most depressing song I’ve ever written.” That may be right, but I think she has the potential to write even more depressing songs: I believe in Eilen Jewell.

Watch Eilen Jewell perform “Rain Roll In” live for Signature Sounds on YouTube:

Speaking of sad songs, when she pulled out her harmonica, I was reminded of one of my  few tweets to get any traction, in which I described Americana music as “a sad guy with a harmonica.” During her recent visit to Spain — her last show before playing the Hamilton was in Valencia, Spain — her harmonica disappeared briefly. It turned up, but hasn’t, she said, sounded the same since.

Following the DeShannon/Sheeley cover, Jewell played “Crawl,” a cut from Gypsy, then “Miles To Go,” and the Loretta Lynn cover. “Lethal Love,” she said, is “a song about the dark, twisted, disturbing side of love.” After “Where They Never Say Your Name” and “Sea of Tears,” she opened the floor to requests. The audience called out the songs they wanted to hear, and Jewell made a quip about how “this is an autocracy. I am in charge.” I suspect that artists at least sometimes know what they want to play when they invite requests, and they have a good sense of what people are going to for. The next two songs were “Santa Fe” and “High-Shelf Blues,” which Eilen said is about “drinking all your troubles away.” The set was rounded out with “Alive,” which kicks off Get Behind The Wheel, the CCR cover, and “If You Catch Me Stealing.”

Watch the official music video for “Lethal Love” by Eilen Jewell on YouTube:

North Carolina trio Victoria Victoria opened the show with a 45-minute set, starting things off with “Lessons on Life.” To set the scene for “Hardware Store,” they talked about how, when you’re having a good hair day, you might head out somewhere where your ex is going to see you. (I am always having a good hair day!) Between songs, they mentioned that their album came out in May. They switched instruments with each other and Maya sang a song she’d written, “Goodbye.” “Where Will I Be?” was introduced as a song “about the questions we’re all asking.” (Well, at least normal people; I tend to ask questions like “How many pickled peppers would Orville Peck pick if Orville Peck picked a peck of pickled peppers?”) They concluded their set with a song that was either called “Sweetest Thing” or “Sweet as Cake” and “Keeper.”

I wasn’t familiar with Victoria Victoria, but I enjoyed their set. Jewell’s set, as usual was terrific: the songs were great, and she has an engaging personality. After two years, it was great to see her again, and she came prepared with some excellent new material. I’m already looking forward to the next time she comes around.

Here are some photos of Eilen Jewell performing at The Hamilton Live on July 25, 2024. All pictures copyright and courtesy of Rashad Polk.