Eilen Jewel • July 5, 2023 • 7:30 PM • Free

Singer/songwriter Eilen Jewel and her band return to Parker Press Park to deliver an evening of Americana with a style uniquely he own. American Songwriter describes Eilen Jewell as one of America's most intriguing, creative and idiosyncratic voices. The Boise, Idaho songwriter is one of a kind. That singular voice springs forth from a woman of more than one mind, and she taps into many of them on Gypsy (August, 2019 Signature Sounds Recordings). By turns personal and political, pissed off and blissed out, Jewell's first album of original material since 2015 expands brief moments of joy into lifetimes, and distills epic sentiments and persistent doubts into succinct songs. Jewell seamlessly blends heavy electric guitars and dirty fiddles on the rollicking country rocker Crawl with the sweet and understated horn section of the tender Witness. 79 Cents (The Meow Song) skewers sexism and discrimination with pointed humor over a circus bed of musical saw and horns. Longtime fans who love Eilen Jewell in classic country mode will delight in the pedal steel driven These Blues and the sole cover on Gypsy, You Cared Enough To Lie, written by fellow Idahoan and country legend Pinto Bennett. Rather than pulling artist and listener this way and that, the tensions within and between these twelve tracks propel Eilen Jewell's eighth studio album forward as a remarkably cohesive full length.

Opener Cold Chocolate is a genre-bending Americana band that fuses folk, funk and bluegrass to create a unique sound all their own. Led by Ethan Robbins (vocals/guitar) and Ariel Bernstein  (vocals/percussion), the Boston-based group released their third full-length album, Down The Line, in the summer of 2020. “We're growing as a band, and I think that shows in our songwriting,” says Robbins. “I see this album as a leaping off point for many more new albums to come, and that's an exciting prospect,” adds Bernstein.

 

Punctuated by tight harmonies and skillful musicianship, Cold Chocolate has quickly gained recognition for their original music and high-energy shows. The band has shared bills with Leftover Salmon, David Grisman, and Angelique Kidjo, and regularly performs at venues and music festivals up and down the East Coast.