When the insurgent country movement blew up in the mid-’90s, The Jayhawks were a cornerstone band alongside the likes of Uncle Tupelo, Whiskeytown and The Bottle Rockets. Next year represents the group’s 40th anniversary since the release of their self-titled debut. It’s a mark of substantial longevity that will be on full display when the quartet comes to Port Washington. Leading the charge will be vocalist/guitarist Gary Louris, who was recruited by founding member Mark Olson in 1985 to replace original guitarist Steve Retzler.
When you ask Louris the key to his band’s longevity, it comes back to the caliber of material that’s populated 11 studio albums and counting.
“I think it’s the strength of the songs,” he said. “We’ve never been easily typecast, so we never got fenced into a certain genre. That’s why you never really see us in any kind of package tours from the ‘90s. I think in certain ways our lack of short-term success has contributed to our long-term success. I have friends who had hits. People got to know certain songs and moved on to the next radio hit by a different band. We didn’t have that radio hit, so we toured a lot and made quality records. We occupy a particular scene in the fabric of the music if you want to get clever. Not a lot of people do exactly what we do. I think it comes down to the quality of the songs and loyalty of our fans.”
Having the good but challenging issue of having to choose what may or may not make the cut is something the Ohio native welcomes.
“It’s difficult [to figure out, but] I do like making set lists because it’s like a crossword puzzle for me,” Louris said. “There is just a certain set of go-to songs that seem to work best live. We’re not trying to go with the most obscure song to please that one uber-fan who wants to hear a demo we did back in 1999. I feel guilty sometimes that we don’t play enough oddball songs and maybe there’ll be a time when we do longer sets. Most of the time we do what works best and don’t play enough shows that I get tired of anything. I still love playing what we play. We’ll touch on almost every album in the catalog. At least a couple of songs off each record. We tend to do more of certain records, plus we’ll sprinkle in a few new songs.”
While the last Jayhawks outing was 2020’s “XOXO,” Louris hasn’t been musically dormant. Earlier this year, he released “Dark Country,” his third solo album. This stripped-down set of songs was released on Valentine’s Day, which was appropriate given that it was entirely inspired by his wife Stephanie, whom Louris met in November 2019 and wed a year later. Louris and his new bride moved from North Carolina to north of Montreal. On the road to dual-citizenship, the septuagenarian singer-songwriter was inspired enough to retire to his home studio to pay homage to his muse.
“My writing mostly has not been autobiographical in the past,” Louris said. “I kind of have imagery, mixed metaphors, some details and a lot of mixed fiction and fact. I decided I wanted to write love songs to my wife, so I worked out songs and it started becoming the record. I haven’t really made one like this where it was me singing love songs to my wife. It was an album coming out of just me and a guitar for a concerted month, where I was heading towards the finish line. That’s what became the aesthetic.”
With 2026 representing four decades of The Jayhawks, next year will find the band reuniting with Bob Ezrin (KISS, Alice Cooper), who produced 2000’s “Smile” and is helming this yet-untitled album. It’s an exciting time for The Jayhawks that Louris wants to share with the band’s devoted fanbase.
“Next year will be a splashier year for us, where we’ll do more extensive touring and showcase a lot of the new record,” Louris said. “If you love us, you really love us. We’re not trendy and still tend to mean something to fans. There are many times people come up to me and say a song helped them get through this or that. That’s because our music, like life, is kind of uplifting but has a kind of melancholy to it. I think it touches the spectrum.”
The Jayhawks will be appearing on Nov. 20 at Landmark on Main Street, 223 Main St., Port Washington. For more information, visit www.landmarkonmainstreet.org or call 516-767-6444.
