The Bones of J.R. Jones
to
Songbirds 206 W Main Street, Chattanooga, Tennessee 37408
Mars Michael
The Bones of J.R. Jones at Songbirds
Doors at 6:00 PM
Show at 7:00 PM
Seated Show
General Admission Advanced: $15
Over the course of three full-length albums and two EPs, Jonathon Robert Linaberry — the songwriter, storyteller, visual artist, and one-man band behind The Bones of J.R. Jones — has woven his own tapestry of American roots music. It's a classic sound for the modern world, influenced not only by blues, soul, and forward-thinking folk, but also by J.R.'s environment.
The most compelling artists among us don't replicate their past; instead, they evolve. A Celebration marks a new stage in The Bones of J.R. Jones' own evolution, fusing the songwriter's southern gothic sound — a sound rooted in acoustic instruments and J.R.'s woozy vocals — with drum machines, analog synths, vibraphone, and the rich, dark tones of a Magnatone amplifier. The songs were recorded quickly, in a series of first takes and instinctual performances, with J.R. playing nearly every instrument himself. The result is an organic record with an electric pulse — a collection of music that, like the region that inspired it, is familiar one minute and otherworldly the next.
"The record's essence was shaped by those beautiful desert nights and the roads that go on endlessly," says J.R. "There's so much space out there. When making A Celebration, I wanted to keep things stripped-back in terms of orchestration, arrangement, and the number of players on the record. It gave me a chance to really embrace that space."
A Celebration's cover art — with its western color palette, desert iconography, and black-and-white photograph of wild animals — was handmade by J.R., who also created a series of accompanying prints. The goal, he says, is to embrace every aspect of the musical experience, creating an immersive world for his audience. In that sense, A Celebration does more than shine a light on the American southwest — it highlights J.R.'s ability to the bridge the gap between artistic disciplines.