The Bones of J.R. Jones brings new album "Slow Lightning" to Europe

The New York-based artist The Bones of J.R. Jones (a.k.a. Jonathon Linaberry) released his first studio album in more than five years, Slow Lightning via Tone Tree Music. Already, the album has earned acclaim from American Songwriter, Holler, Glide Magazine, NYS Music and more. This week, he'll kick off the European leg of his album release tour:

08/11: Amsterdam, NL - Paradiso SOLD OUT
09/11: Luxembourg, LUX - De Gudde Wëllen*
10/11: Paris, FR - La Pointe Lafayette
11/11: London, UK - Omeara SOLD OUT*
14/11: Cologne, DE - Jaki
15/11: Hamburg, DE - Uebel & Gefährlich
16/11: Berlin, DE - Kantine am Berghain
17/11: Leipzig, DE - Naumanns
18/11: Frankfurt, DE - Brotfabrik
* with Anthony D'Amato

“‘Slow lightning’ is about a power you can’t control,” Linaberry explains. “A force that’s bigger than you and follows its own path no matter how badly you want to mold or direct it. That’s what this record felt like, and it’s something I had to figure out how to embrace.”

The album features the single “The Good Life,” which was released alongside a moving official video starring actress Maggie McDowell. Atwood Magazine proclaimed, “‘The Good Life’ radiates with smoldering folk rock passion and perseverance as The Bones of J.R. Jones echoes our endless individual pursuit in song.” The LP’s propulsive debut single “Heaven Help Me” was praised by Magnet Magazine and has already been streamed more than 250,000 times.

As the title suggests, the 12-track collection Slow Lightning is raw and visceral, pulsating with an understated electrical current that flows through his cinematic brand of roots noir. The songs grapple with doubt and desire in the face of nature and fate, and frequent collaborator Kiyoshi Matsuyama’s production is eerily hypnotic to match, with haunting synthesizers, vintage drum machines, and ghostly guitars. 

“I felt very lost at the time I was writing these songs,” Linaberry confesses. “It was a moment of deep crisis and anxiety, but I knew the only way out was through, which meant I just had to bring myself to the table every day and put in the work.”

The Bones of J.R. Jones is a New York-based songwriter, storyteller, visual artist and “one man band who can hold an audience rapt, rendering the cacophony of a stage full of musicians utterly unnecessary” (Noisey). His 2021 EP, A Celebration, was praised by American Songwriter, Under The Radar and Atwood Magazine, who called it “an intimate, visceral outpouring of vulnerability, reflection, connection, and wonder.”