There’s more to Eilen Jewell than meets the eye. National Public Radio, on its listing for Song of the Day, says, “She’s got a sweet and clear voice with a killer instinct lurking beneath the shiny surface.” USA Today describes her as “Dark and haunting, but alluring just the same...Give me more of that voice.” Her voice certainly stays with you, a captivating blend of wild and under control. Her music encompasses a wide range of traditions, from the folk and jug band leanings of her first few albums, to the vintage country stylings of her Loretta Lynn tribute, to gospel, garage rock, and Chicago blues. Her last studio album, Queen of the Minor Key, features 14 originals, ranging from torch songs to roadhouse rockers. AllMusic calls the album “a reminder that this music at its best speaks to the wayward impulses of the human heart, and Eilen Jewell embodies that quiet, insistent voice as well as anyone making music in the 21st century.” Now, after a brief hiatus to welcome her first child into the world—a daughter, Mavis, named after Mavis Staples—she’s back on the road with a new live album, Live at the Narrows, which includes original songs and some of her favorite covers.
 
Eilen grew up in Boise, Idaho, started busking on the streets of Santa Fe when she was in college, and spent some time in Southern California before moving to Boston, where she’s currently based. Along the way, she’s put together a marvelous band, featuring Jason Beek on drums, Jerry Miller on guitar, and Johnny Sciascia on upright bass. Their music sounds good on the surface, and then it gets under your skin, and you realize that it holds hidden depths of dark humor, raw emotion, and gospel soul.

Caitlin Canty comes to the Freight with a fine new album, Reckless Skyline, that the Philadelphia Inquirer calls “dynamite” and the website PopDose calls “as good as it gets.” With her dusky alto and haunting original songs, Caitlin makes music that is at once gritty and luminous. Raised in small-town Vermont, the daughter of a school teacher and a house painter, she spent a decade performing in New York City, and now divides her non-touring time between Nashville, Idaho, and New England. Reckless Skyline is her third solo album, and she also writes and performs with such artists as Peter Bradley Adams, Darlingside, and Down Like Silver.

visit Eilen Jewell's website

visit Caitlin Canty's website