Summer has arrived in all its glory in the Pacific Northwest. Interminable, dark rainy days have finally subsided and been replaced with long sunny days that begin with brilliant blue skies that start at 5:00 AM and linger until nearly 10:00 PM. On July 9, Jenner Fox, Jeremy Elliott, and friends welcomed the meteorological changes with a bright, lively, and sold-out New Prospect Theatre performance reflecting the season’s new warmth.
With Bellingham artists Stephanie Walbon on lead/backing vocals and Thomas Harris on clarinet, Jenner and Jeremy previewed their new album, Beauty in Strange Colors (released on July 10th), along with several older tunes and covers.
Stream Beauty in Strange Colors by Jenner Fox on Spotify.
Jenner’s background (his father, Peter Fox, is world renowned “river rat”) as a river rafter and biker may have been a factor for the summery theme of the show. Guiding on rivers in California, Oregon, British Columbia, Bhutan, and Chile may not seem related to folk music, but actually helped form the musical bond between him and Jeremy. As Jenner told us, river trips often include multiple guitars so days on the river often turn into evening jam sessions. Similarly, a 2021 Northeast US bike trip Jeremy and Jenner took together laid the foundations for what now seems to be their natural and inevitable musical partnership.
Elliott normally plays electric guitar but for a 300+ mile bike trip that proved unfeasible. When Jenner played him what would become the new album’s opening tune, “Easy Tiger,” Jeremy provided the perfect accompanying harmony line with his travel acoustic. After having collaborated on various projects over the years, they decided to pursue a formal musical partnership.
In 2024, the duo released their debut, The Moon That Moves The Sea, to widespread praise (Americana UK called it “evocative and revelatory”). Fox already had nine albums to his name, while Elliott, originally from Macon, Georgia, brought influences from blues, rock, bluegrass, country, and West Africa to the musical menu. Their second album subtly reveals those influences, lifting it beyond simply an Americana offering. More importantly, however, it’s music made and shared based on friendship and trust.
Opening the show with “Steady,” from their first album gave the audience instant insight into how attuned Jenner and Jeremy are to each other. Fox’s understated but warm vocals, reminiscent of James Taylor or Watchhouse’s Andrew Marlin, are enhanced by Elliott’s supple and imaginative lead guitar work. Jenner broke out his mandolin for the next song, “Heart Tattoo,” (from the 2025 Jenner Fox Band release, Anything), resulting in the evening’s first sing-along with the audience lustily belting out the chorus, “let it all fall down!”
Watch the illustration video for “Easy Tiger” by Jenner Fox and Jeremy Elliott on YouTube (with illustration/animation by Jeremy Elliott).
Jenner then announced that it was time to get into the new album and proceeded to play its tunes in order. “Easy Tiger,” the song that started it all on that bike tour for the duo, evokes wide open spaces, country colors, and an outro that features a simple yet irresistible melodic hook. “Stone’s Throw” and “Lines” followed, the latter an instrumental demonstrating the duo’s fingerpicking skills. “Smoke in the Summer Sky” was enhanced by Steph’s gorgeous harmony vocals. The set closer, a smoking “Rhiannon,” showcased Steph’s powerful lead vocals. Although one might quibble with the selection of a Fleetwood Mac standard in the setlist, the song’s performance confirmed that these virtuoso musicians excel at any genre, even in a stripped-down arrangement.
Opening the second set with “Can’t Beat the Bar,” a bluesy number bemoaning the fact that the house, or in this case the bar, always wins. While Fox provided a solid rhythmic underpinning, Elliott’s lead guitar ranged across the melody in a style reminiscent of Dave Rawlings (Gillian Welch’s musical and life partner).
Watch Jenner Fox and Jeremy Elliott perform “Can’t Beat the Bar” live on YouTube:
Side B of the new album followed with another bluesy piece, “Kansas,” the imagery of the lyrics like scattered snapshots of Midwestern life. “Clementine,” a pleasing Leo Kottke-like instrumental featured Elliott’s syncopated, expert lead phrasings. The faintly jazzy, “Charlie” highlighted Harris’s expressive clarinet. A story about counting the cars of a passing train introduced a song (“Counting Cars”) about a family tradition of counting the cars of a passing train.
With each song, the show became more intimate if not more boisterous with multiple extended ovations throughout the evening. Such was the effect the songs and performers’ personalities had on the crowd. The evening’s third instrumental, “Metolius,” written by Elliott as a wedding gift (he joked, “I wanted to give Jenner and Natalie something special…so I got them an Amazon gift card”), showed how close the bond is, musically and personally, between the two musicians.
Listen to “Metolius” by Jenner Fox on YouTube.
The second set closed with the lovely “Song for Gail” and “Lighthouse,” a song about hope in the face of adversity.
“From Baton Rouge to Katmandu, from Idaho to Spain
Look for me, lost at sea, smiling in the rain”
The raucous crowd insisted on an encore, giving the musicians a long, loud standing ovation. Throughout the evening, Jenner had generously praised his fellow musicians. For the encore, he again gave them the spotlight, with Harris’s clarinet adding texture and depth during his solo spot, while Steph performed her own composition, “Hopin” to an appreciative and enthusiastic audience. With the final encore, “The Beautiful Game,” a tribute to the World Cup, Jenner, Jeremy, Steph, and Thomas brought the show to a lovely and satisfying conclusion, as summer’s warmth still lingered in the last rays of the setting sun.
For more information about Jenner Fox and Jeremy Elliott’s music, videos, and upcoming tour schedule, please visit his website here.
Here are some more photos of Jenner, Jeremy, Steph, and Thomas at Bellingham’s New Prospect Theatre on July 9, 2026. All photos courtesy of and copyright Mark Caicedo.
