Eilen Jewell

“They say things have to get worse before they can get better,” Eilen Jewell reflects. “And for a while theree, verything 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 singer and songwriter was grieving and shocked, living in a remote cabin in the mountains and unsure if sheʼd ever get to make music again. “Up to that point, Iʼd just been going with the flow and letting outside forces dictate the path of my life,” Jewell explains. “Losing so much so fast forced me to figure out what really mattered. It made me realize that Iʼve only got this one life, and Iʼd better get behind the wheel if I want to make the most of it.” With Get Behind The Wheel, her ninth studio album, Jewell does precisely that, planting herself firmly in the driverʼs 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), the collection pushes Jewellʼs trademark blend of vintage roots-noir into more psychedelic territory, with spacious, cinematic arrangements complementing her revelatory explorations of grief, loss, resilience, and redemption. The bandʼs performances are truly electrifying here, blending elements of early rock and rockabilly with old school country and soul, and Jewellʼs delivery is timeless to match, her voice effortlessly moving from unguarded intimacy to icy cool and back, sometimes within the very same song. The result is Jewellʼs boldest album yet, a powerful work of artistic alchemy that transforms heartache into genuine creative rebirth. “I never wanted to make something that just wallowed in its misery because thatʼs not what I got from this whole experience,” Jewell says. “Iʼd be lying if I said it wasnʼt tough, but I survived and Iʼve come out so much stronger and more in tune with myself, and thatʼs the journey I wanted to capture in these songs.” Hailed as “one of Americaʼs most intriguing, creative, and idiosyncratic voices” by American Songwriter, Jewell built her career the old fashioned way, touring relentlessly with the kind of undeniable live show that converts the uninitiated into instant acolytes. Over the course of nearly two decades on the road, the Idaho native has crisscrossed the US, Europe, and Australia countless times, playing an endless series of headline and festival dates in addition to sharing bills with the likes of Lucinda Williams, Loretta Lynn, Mavis Staples, Wanda Jackson, George Jones, Emmylou Harris, and The Blind Boys of Alabama. Rolling Stone lauded Jewellʼs “clever writing,” while NPR declared that she has a “sweet and clear voice with a killer instinct lurking beneath the shiny surface,” and The Washington Post mused that “if Neko Case, Madeleine Peyroux and Billie Holiday had a baby girl who grew up to front a rockabilly band, sheʼd probably sound a lot like Eilen Jewell.” “From the outside, Iʼm sure everything looked very fun and exciting,” Jewell reflects, “but somewhere along the way I started to feel like I was stuck in a life that wasnʼt my own, and I started drinking too much to escape all the stress.”