It’s been a while, friends. Along with the rest of the world, the pandemic days brought some change to Jo Henley: after almost two decades in Boston, Ben and I pulled up stakes and relocated with our families to Upstate NY. Such a decision is never easy—Boston was our home, yes, but also moving away meant losing the chance to regularly make music with our dear brothers, Kent Stephens and Mike Migliozzi. Any opportunity that allows us the opportunity to join forces again we will of course jump on, but in the meantime Ben and I have been busy dreaming, scheming, and writing the next chapter in Jo Henley’s history.
I, for one, have been quite literally writing. In 2020 I earned my MFA in fiction from Boston University and have dedicated much of the past couple years to writing short stories and completing my debut novel. Any JH fans who have been paying attention to our lyrics—and my penchant for story songs—will not be surprised to hear of my passion for fiction writing. I hope to share this side of me with you soon. Lots more to say about in the coming months.
But what about NEW MUSIC, you ask? YES! We have not only broken ground on a brand-new Jo Henley studio album, but Ben and I have recently fallen in love all over again with what has been at the heart of Jo Henley since day one—and, going back even further, to the early ‘90s—and that is our acoustic duo. Every single Jo Henley song started with us sitting on a couch with acoustic guitars in our laps. Every one. And while nothing can replace the lush, rollicking thrill of a full-band show, Ben and I have always supplemented our live show schedule with duo gigs. Something about stripping each song down to its very essence has remained endlessly appealing to us. So a few weeks ago we decided to make a duo record! We’re super excited about this. We considered a whole acoustic album of new songs, and we still may do that one day, but for this project we decided to pull from our entire discography, plus, yes, a few new tunes. The goal of this album is simple: to represent, in pristine sonic quality, the experience of a Jo Henley acoustic duo performance. We’re almost done with it, so stay tuned for more details on how to get your copy, as well as the announcement of upcoming live shows!
Andy