FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE<\/b><\/p>\n
April 2, 2018<\/b><\/p>\n
Country\/Americana singer-songwriter Karen Jonas<\/b><\/p>\n
to release third album on June 1st<\/sup><\/b><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n \u201c\u2026inspired storytelling that is all at once insightful, honest, <\/b><\/p>\n tenacious and vulnerable.\u201d \u2013 No Depression<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n Fredericksburg, VA-based country\/Americana singer-songwriter Karen Jonas is set to independently release her new album, Butter<\/i>, on June 1, 2018.\u00a0 With four kids at home and a touring schedule of 150+ shows per year, Jonas has a full plate. \u201cWhether I\u2019m ?nishing up a gig at midnight or getting pounced on by my kids at 6:30 a.m., I usually feel like my life is a circus,\u201d she says. \u201cSo I started writing songs about my circus.\u201d She shines a light on the triumphs and challenges of that busy life with Butter<\/i>, which will be available for pre-order beginning April 2nd<\/sup> on Kickstarter (see her website<\/a> and social media for details).<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Butter<\/i> was tracked at Wally Cleaver\u2019s Recording Studio in her hometown of Fredericksburg, and Jonas would head over to the studio after putting her kids to bed. Tim Bray, her guitarist and musical partner for nearly half a decade, joined her for those nighttime recording sessions, as did a number of other musicians who laced Butter<\/i>\u2019s ten songs with pedal steel, B3 organ, upright piano, layers of guitar, and vintage-sounding, seven-piece horn arrangements.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Produced by Jeff Covert, Jonas, and Bray, Butter<\/i> mixes the textured twang of Jonas\u2019s folk and country roots \u2014 a sound she explored fully on her previous album, 2016\u2019s critically acclaimed Country Songs<\/i> \u2014 with the diverse in?uences of ragtime, blues, jazz, and barroom soul. It\u2019s her broadest, boldest album to date, with songs that anchor themselves in Southern storytelling and Jonas\u2019s smooth, unforced croon. Butter<\/i> is a retro-minded album for the modern age \u2014 the sound of a songwriter celebrating her circumstances.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cMy ?rst two albums featured a lot of heartbroken songs,\u201d she explains. \u201cThat didn\u2019t feel authentic for this album. Butter<\/i> is about my story now, as a working musician and mother \u2014 about the challenges of each role and, especially, the challenge of balancing the two. It\u2019s about baking my cake and eating it, too.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n As the album came together, each song took on a life of its own. The title track is a late-night, big-band jazz number, while \u201cMy Sweet Arsonist\u201d is a woozy, slow-burning love ballad. \u201cGospel of the Road\u201d and \u201cYellow Brick Road\u201d both nod to Tom Petty\u2019s in?uence, thanks to ringing guitars and heartland rock & roll melodies. \u201cDance With Me\u201d slows down its tempo to a swinging waltz, while the Beatles-esque \u201cMr. Wonka\u201d speeds it back up to a surreal circus\u2019s pace. Together, Butter<\/i>\u2019s songs explore one woman\u2019s story to the tune of a full range of American roots music.<\/p>\n \n For Jonas \u2014 a full-time musician and full-time mother \u2014 the album is a personal anthem. \u201cButter<\/i> is about mom doing what she wants to do,\u201d she clari?es. \u201cSometimes she wants to cook a damn good meal, and sometimes she wants to travel with a kickass country band. Sometimes she wants to do both at the same time, and can\u2019t. But there are a lot of successful, empowered mothers making time to pursue their passions right now, and it\u2019s changing the world.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Jonas\u2019s intensely personal songwriting first grabbed national attention with the release of her critically acclaimed 2014 debut album Oklahoma Lottery<\/i>, which was followed by the aforementioned Country Songs<\/i> in 2016.\u00a0 In 2017, Jonas was nominated for an Ameripolitan Award in the Honky Tonk Female Category, and the same year, she was given the Readers’ Choice Award for Best Local Band\/Vocalist by the Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star<\/i>. Her music has been lauded around the world.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n American Roots UK<\/i> said of her sophomore album, \u201cCountry Songs<\/i> is a stunning album of great beauty and dynamism that tugs the emotions to just about every point of the compass.\u201d Saving Country Music<\/i> echoed that sentiment, writing, \u201cCountry Songs<\/em>\u00a0comes spilling out of her songwriting pen just as fervent and hungry as her first effort, yet with more refined and deliberate results due to the wisdom won through the experience of her debut.\u201d\u00a0 No Depression<\/i> also heaped similar praise on her second album, writing, \u201cCountry Songs<\/em>\u00a0wraps fiddle, steel, organ and guitar around inspired storytelling that is all at once insightful, honest, tenacious and vulnerable. Completely avoiding any sophomore slump, Jonas\u2019\u00a0Country Songs<\/em>\u00a0captures something timeless and special…\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Five years of non-stop touring with her guitarist Bray has produced a smoldering live act that\u2019s left audiences breathless across the country.\u00a0 As they always do, Jonas and Bray plan to tour heavily in support of Butter<\/i>; already they\u2019ve confirmed four album release shows (see schedule below) with more dates to be announced soon.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Karen Jonas Tour Dates:<\/b><\/p>\n 6\/1\/2018 – Fredericksburg, VA \/ The Kenmore Inn<\/p>\n 6\/9\/2018 – Winchester, VA \/ Bright Box Theater<\/p>\n 7\/6\/2018 – New York, NY \/ Rockwood Music Hall<\/p>\n 7\/14\/2018 – Frederick, MD \/ The Blue Side<\/p>\n <\/p>\n www.karenjonasmusic.com<\/a><\/p>\n www.facebook.com\/karenjonasmusic<\/a><\/p>\n https:\/\/twitter.com\/KarenJonasMusic<\/a><\/p>\n