AFTER MOVE HOME TO IDAHO, EILEN JEWELL FINDS WRITING SANCTUARY IN HISTORIC HOT SPRINGS CABIN, METAPHOR FROM HER FATHER’S “HALF-BROKE HORSE”

NPR MORNING EDITION TAPES PROFILE ON SONGWRITER

‘SUNDOWN OVER GHOST TOWN’ OUT MAY 26 ON SIGNATURE SOUNDS AS NORTHEAST TOUR DATES CONFIRMED FOR JULY

“You have to get water from the well and bring it over to your cabin but it’s the best tasting water ever,” says Jason Beek, drummer and background vocalist in Eilen Jewell’s band about Burgdorf Hot Springs, where she wrote much of ‘Sundown Over Ghost Town.' Burgdorf is on the Register of Historic Places and consists of primitive cabins surrounding a natural, mineral hot springs north of Boise, outside of McCall, ID. The stunning ‘Sundown Over Ghost Town’ is deeply rooted in Idaho, where Eilen grew up.

NPR Morning Edition has taped an interview with Eilen that will air around 'Sundown Over Ghost Town's' May 26 release on Signature Sounds.

Even the drive to Burgdorf provides inspiration. She says, “I’m obsessed with rusty things and old things. An old truck has given me a lot of inspiration. Lucky horseshoe in a pile of junk – once had meaning and promise on the wayside and forgotten.”

Eilen exclaims, “I love any writing with a sense of place. I try to do that with my material. One can use imagery as vehicle for talking about anything.” For example, “Half-Broke Horse” is a song based both in the reality of semi-domesticated animals in Idaho and a metaphor for outcasts everywhere.

She explains, “This song is based on Pyro, my dad’s mustang. He was born wild somewhere in southern Idaho, caught in a mustang roundup, and sold. He’s not really wild anymore, but he’s not really tame either. Other horses think he’s strange and most people have no use for him because he can’t be ridden and won’t be put to work. So he’s stuck in his own weird in-between world.” Eilen’s lyrics run deep:

Stolen from the desert in the lost part of the state
Just a half-broke horse, he waits by the gate
No bridled horse can stand him or any of his kind
Their hidden laws condemn him
They’re so rigid and refined
He watches on the edge, dirty coat and shaggy mane
Too wild for this world, too tame for mustangs

“I’ve known a lot of people around here who are very similar to Pyro in that respect. I think, to some extent, I’m one of them,” she reflects.

Eilen Jewell Tour Dates:

05/23/15 - Grass Valley, CA - Strawberry Music Festival
05/27/15 – Eureka, CA - Palm Lounge at the Eureka Inn
05/28/15 – Winters, CA - The Palms
05/29/15 - Berkeley, CA - Freight and Salvage
05/30/15 - Santa Cruz, CA - Kuumbwa Jazz Center
06/10/15 – Portland, OR – Alberta Rose Theatre
06/11/15 – Seattle, WA - Tractor Tavern
06/12/15 – Palmer, AK – Palmer Musk Ox Farm
06/13/15 – Soldotna, AK – Kenai River Festival
07/03/15 - Berwyn, IL - Fitzgerald’s American Music Festival
07/08/15 - Cambridge, MA - The Sinclair
07/09/15 - New Haven, CT - Cafe 9
07/10/15 – Greenfield, MA – Green River Festival
07/11/15 - Hudson, NY - Club Helsinki
07/12/15 - Woodbridge, NJ - Woodbridge Country Sundays
07/14/15 – New York, NY – City Winery
07/17/15 - Philadelphia, PA - World Cafe Live
07/18/15 – Pittsburgh, PA – Club Café
07/19/15 – Wakeman, OH – Music at Riverdog
08/07/15 – Challis, ID – Braun Brothers Family Reunion
08/22/15 - Liberty, UT - Ogden Valley Roots & Blues Festival
09/03/15 – Collinsville, CT – Bridge Street
09/04/15 – Charlestown, RI – Rhythm & Roots Festival