Eilen Jewell, Band to Play at Sanctuary Concerts

Sanctuary Concerts presents Eilen Jewell and Little Toby Walker in concert Saturday evening at the Presbyterian Church of Chatham Township.

Known as the "Queen of the Minor Key," Jewell specializes in "dark, moody Americana and rhythm and blues," in the words of Sanctuary Concerts Head Scott Sheldon. Her singing and songwriting is influenced by everything from classic country to early rhythm and blues music.

Jewell's music career began when she started singing on the streets of Santa Fe while attending college. She followed her music first to Los Angeles and then to Boston. In 2005 she recorded her first album, and since them six more albums have furthered her music career and endeared her to fans across the country.

"Eilen's own haunting, rootsy, soulful songs, along with choice covers of gritty material like Loretta Lynn's 'Fist City' and Eric Andersen's 'Dusty Boxcar Wall,'" Sheldon said.

Her crack band is led by guitarist Jerry Miller with Jason Beek on drums and Johnny Sciascia on upright bass.

Performing with Jewell is Little Toby Walker, whose fingerstyle acoustic skills earned him the International Blues Challenge Award for Best Solo Acoustic Blues Player.

Little Toby Walker and Eilen Jewell will appear at the Sanctuary Concerts at 8 p.m. Saturday. Tickets are $25 and can be purchased at the Sanctuary Concerts box office by telephone at (973) 376-4946 or by email at boxoffice@sanctuaryconcerts.org. Admission includes desserts and beverages at intermission.

Acclaim for Eilen Jewell includes the following:

• From the LA Daily News: "as darkly damaged as Lucinda Williams, as defiant and teasing as prime Peggy Lee, and as authentically Americana as Gillian Welch.";
• From The New Yorker: "classic Nashville with appealing measures of blues, pop and jazz";
• From USA Today: "Give me more of that voice!";
• and from The Boston Globe: "achingly good, twanged-out elegies to a world of barbed wire, rusty trucks, and a frontier that no longer exists."

Sanctuary Concerts and Chatham Patch teamed up to offer two pairs of free tickets to see Eilen Jewell and Little Toby Walker in concert Saturday to the first person who can correctly answer the trivia question below. The trivia is based on the photo attached to this article:

Eilen Jewell’s songs range from rockabilly to rhythm and blues to sultry roadhouse blues. As you can see, her Seagull guitar has the signatures of three of her musical heroes. Who are they?

Congratulations to our two winners who correctly answered the trivia question! Tickets are still available at the Box Office.