Press Quotes
"A songwriter with a voice of unblinking tenacity, who finds parables in the everyday, and humanity behind the archetypal." - The New York Times
"A major talent" - Billboard
"Jess Klein is a badass." - Mary Gauthier
"One great song after another" - Chuck Prophet
Jess Klein
Artist Info
GENRE: Singer-Songwriter/Americana/Folk-Rock
BASED IN: Hillsborough, NC
RECOMMENDED IF YOU LIKE: Lucinda Williams, Elvis Costello, Patty Griffin
Tour DATES
11/15 Club Passim, Boston, MA
11/16 Portsmouth Music Hall, Portsmouth, NH
12/4 BIrds Nest, Dunn, NC
1/11/26 Jess Klein's Velvet Feast @ Eno House, HIllsborough, NC
1/31/26 Captain Quack's, Austin, TX
2/14/26 Jess Klein's Velvet Feast @ Eno House, HIllsborough, NC
2/19/26 Evening at the Atrium, Winston-Salem, NC
2/27-2/28/26 Little Grassy Songwriter Retreat, Makanda, IL
3/22/26 Jess Klein's Velvet Feast @ Eno House, HIllsborough, NC
4/12/26 Jess Klein's Velvet Feast @ Eno House, HIllsborough, NC
4/15/26 The Bluebird, Nashville, TN
4/19/26 Jammin Java, Vienna, VA
4/24/26 Wake Forest Listening Room, Wake Forest, NC
4/28/26 The Kate, Old Saybrook, CT
4/30/26 Towne Crier, Beacon, NC
5/1/26 The Folk Project, Morristown, NJ
5/3/26 Belmar Arts Center, Belmar, NJ
6/12/26 Live at Ted's, Wilmington, NC
6/18/26 Eastlake House Concert, Columbia, MO
6/20-21 Moccasin Creek Festival, Effingham, IL
9/4/26 Front Porch Fest, Stuart, VA
9/11/26 3rd Street Coffeehouse, Roanoke, VA
9/18/26 Chapel in the Pines, Chapel Hill, NC
9/19/26 Private House Concert, Washington, DC
9/23-9/26 Antlers & Acorns Songwriter Festival, Boone, NC
10/4/26 Folkus, New York, NY
10/16/26 Molly's House Concert, Chicago, IL
10/17/26 Cafe Carpe, Ft Atkinson, WI
10/18/26 Bishop Hill Creative Commons, Bishop HIll, IL
10/24/26 Americana Community Music Association, Fort Myers, Florida
BIOGRAPHY
Jess Klein came to this world to pull firebrand power and childlike joy from our darkest shadows. Her acoustic-driven, hook-laden story songs revel in the polychrome of human experience - joy, rage, sensuality and resilience. The New York Times calls her “A songwriter with a voice of unblinking tenacity.”
Jess has toured the globe performing in pin-drop listening rooms, cozy theaters and at raucous festivals in front of tens of thousands of fans. She has toured nationally and internationally supporting Arlo Guthrie, Josh Ritter, Damien Dempsey, John Fullbright and Jonathan Byrd and has opened for such legends as Ani DiFranco, Steve Earle and Alejandro Escovedo. Jess has appeared on Good Morning America and NPR’s All Things Considered and has performed at the Newport, Winnipeg, Falcon Ridge and Philadelphia Folk Festivals as well as Fuji Rock Festival in Japan.
Jess's live shows are known for their intimate and soulful atmosphere. Whether solo with just her guitar or backed by a band, Jess performs with a raw, emotional intensity. Her emotive vocals, and poignant storytelling invite her fans on a journey through themes of love, loss, and resilience.
The Bluegrass Situation hails Jess's work as “one part grassroots social activism, two parts alt-country guitar rock — a combo we can certainly get behind.” Klein's newest album, 2023's When We Rise, harnesses this potent combination with themes of empowerment and the joy of overcoming set to a dynamic and deeply introspective roots-inflected soundtrack.
photo: Sam Schumacker
Photo: Rodney Bursiel