A double nomination in the 2015 BBC Folk Awards – for best singer and best new song – was a timely reminder of Jez Lowe’s standing in the UK folk and acoustic music scene, after four decades of performing, writing and recording, during which his songs of Northern England have reached audiences all around the globe.
He has released almost thirty albums since his 1980 debut, authored three novels, hosted programmes on BBC Radio and was a prime writer and composer for the award-winning BBC series “The Radio Ballads” from 2006 to 2018.
As a solo performer, and often with his long-time band The Bad Pennies, he has played at countless clubs, concerts and festivals all over Britain, across Canada and the USA, Australia and New Zealand, and throughout mainland Europe. He has performed at some of the most prestigious venues in the world, both solo and with the Bad Pennies, including the main stages at Edmonton Festival (Canada), Tonder Festival (Denmark), The Kennedy Center and the Smithsonian (US), Port Fairy and Byron Bay Festivals (Australia) and at concerts and festivals in New Zealand, Hong Kong, Ireland, Holland, Germany and Spain.
Not only is Jez Lowe one of the busiest live performers in the UK, but his songs are among the most widely recorded by other performers. The list is endless – long-established acts like Fairport Convention, The Dubliners, Mary Black, The McCalmans, Wizz Jones, Gordon Bok, The Tannahill Weavers, Liam Clancy, Cherish The Ladies and Bob Fox, as well as the new breed of performers like The Unthanks, The Young Uns, The Duhks, Megson and scores more, have all included Jez Lowe songs on their albums and in live performances. Songs like BACK IN DURHAM GAOL, THE BERGEN, GREEK LIGHTNING and THESE COAL TOWN DAYS have generated so many cover versions around the globe and are now classics of their kind.
Most recently, Jez has published three much-acclaimed novels, all inspired by the music and songs of his native North-East England, starting with “The Dillen Doll” in 2017, followed by “The Corly Croons” in 2019 and “Piper’s Lonnen” in 2022. A fourth novel is scheduled for 2024.
His Latest album, “Crazy Pagan” (2021) was described in the UK’s Daily Telegraph as “Another triumph for one of the UK’s foremost songwriters and troubadours”, and a five CD box-set of his 1980s and 1990s albums has now been released.