Eliza Hardy Jones
This week’s conversation has it all – incredible music, inspiring story, deep conversation about overcoming grief, international relations, trips to the arctic circle, synesthesia, quilting with brilliance, Yates poetry as pop songs, and even the Philadelphia Eagles.
In This Episode
- Eliza has just released a gem of an album called Pickpocket, and while it’s full of the journey through the grief of attempting to have a child, the music somehow has the ability to ease the pain and bring comfort and hope.
- We dive into the Song Quilt project and get taken on a world-wide trip to learn about the incredible journey she took to create the quilts, the songs she transcribed into them, and the amazing people along the way.
- We dive into her time performing with Grace Potter, Iron & Wine, and her current band The War on Drugs.
- Speaking of people we get the break down of her extraordinarily artistic family. From a ballet dancers, to classical musicians, to folk musicians and family albums recorded over the holidays, it is quite impressive! Did you know her brother puts out music which she has helped with? You should check the Skull Island Inquirer (and listen for his prior band’s name!) and his Old Poems for New People site
- Eliza was also the vocal coach for the Philly Specials – Jason Kelce, Jordan Mailata and Lane Johnson – and worked on their Christmas albums.
Biography
Eliza Hardy Jones is a multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, singer, vocal coach, and quilter. In the early 2000s, Eliza began her professional career in the Philadelphia music scene with her band Buried Beds and in addition to her solo output, and has been a touring member of many bands, including Grace Potter and Iron & Wine, before joining The War on Drugs in 2022. Following the release of her first debut solo album in 2016, Because Become, Eliza focused on a large multidisciplinary art project interviewing women in the U.S. and Russia, in which she recorded folk songs, and then transformed them into a series of ten handcrafted quilts. She also lent her vocal coaching skills to members of the NFL Philadelphia Eagles aka The Philly Specials, for their Billboard chart topping holiday albums. She lives in Philadelphia with her husband and infant son.
