Grammy-nominated artist Jewel to make Bass Hall debut

by PegNews wire

FORT WORTH — Performing Arts Fort Worth Inc. welcomes acclaimed folk singer Jewel, with opening act Holly Williams, to Bass Performance Hall on Sunday, November 15, 2009, at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $30-$58 and will go on sale Saturday, September 12, at 10 a.m.

The three-time Grammy-nominated singer/songwriter, poet, actress, author, and visual artist has evolved from her humble beginnings in her homeland of Alaska to her current worldwide fame as a pop, folk, and country singer. She now calls Texas home and has spent her life dabbling in various aspects of the arts.

But when Jewel makes her Bass Hall debut, she’ll strictly be in singer/songwriter mode, presenting her melodic and poetic folk songs acoustically, stripping them down to their bare bones.

Jewel’s intimate, acoustic performance will coincide with the release of a like-minded new CD, Lullaby, a 15-track children’s record -- released in conjunction with Fisher Price -- recorded in her home studio in Stephenville. In addition to 10 new self-penned songs, Lullaby also features Jewel’s renditions of “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” and “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star.”

Lullaby comes on the heels of Jewel’s first country album, last year’s Perfectly Clear, which hit No. 1 on the Billboard Country Albums chart. With a hit single, “Stronger Woman,” leading the way, Perfectly Clear exposed Jewel to an entirely new audience. She was a presenter on the Country Music Association Awards show in 2007; hosted the reality show Nashville Star; and co-wrote and sang with new country artist Jason Michael Carroll on his debut album, Waitin’ in the Country. Jewel is currently recording her second country CD.

Born Jewel Kilcher and raised in the remote area of Homer, Alaska, Jewel started singing almost from birth. After her parents divorced, Jewel’s father began to train her – at the age of 6 – to sing professionally. “He trained me well and I practiced hard, for hours a day, to sing good harmony and learn his songs,” Jewel says of her father, who was also a rodeo champion. “We sang at Veterans clubs and bank openings and biker bars and honky-tonk all over the state.”

At 15, Jewel left home to finish high school at a fine arts school in Michigan. Between semesters, she criss-crossed the country, busking for money on street corners and singing in restaurants in exchange for food. The people she met and the places she visited would eventually turn into one of her biggest hits, “Who Will Save Your Soul.”

After graduation, Jewel drifted to California, where she performed in coffeehouses – and, for about a year, was homeless. A radio station DJ played a bootleg of a Jewel show on the air, perking the ears of record labels, including Atlantic, with which Jewel signed.

That album, Pieces of You, was the first in Jewel’s string of highly successful records. In addition to “Who Will Save Your Soul,” the album featured the hit songs, “You Were Meant for Me” and “Foolish Games.” Pieces of You is one of the highest-selling debut albums of all time.

Opener Holly Williams is the granddaughter of country music legend Hank Williams and the daughter of country music rabble-rouser Hank Williams Jr. Here with Me, her recently released debut album for Mercury Nashville (and second album overall), has been hailed by The Washington Post, The New York Times, People and Entertainment Weekly. Billboard magazine called it “one of the best singer/songwriter albums to come out of Nashville in the last year.”

To charge tickets by phone, call (817) 212-4280 in Fort Worth; 877-212-4280 (toll free) outside Fort Worth; or order online at www.basshall.com. Tickets are also available at the Bass Performance Hall ticket office at 525 Commerce Street. Ticket office hours are Tuesday through Friday, 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.; and Saturday, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.

Performing Arts Fort Worth