Smith Center for the Arts

GENEVA NY — The Smith Opera House’s Jan Regan Club Series presents Eilen Jewell to Geneva on Friday, May 31. The retro rockabilly singer-songwriter and her band will perform at 7:30 p.m. at Bottomless Brewing, 3543 East Lake Road, Fayette, just 4 miles outside of Geneva. Bottomless Brewing is the sponsor of the Jan Regan Smith Club Series.

Jewell laughs when told her label’s president called her a musicologist. But she confirms she and her husband and bandmate, Jason Beek, have a passion for studying American music.

“We really love to uncover the past. It’s almost like digging for buried treasure,” she says. “For me, that’s where music is at. I like all kinds of music as long as there’s the word early in front of it.”

For her new album, Down Hearted Blues, on Signature Sounds, they unearthed 12 vintage gems written or made famous by an array of artists both renowned and obscure, from Willie Dixon and Memphis Minnie to Charles Sheffield and Betty James. Then, like expert stonecutters, they chiseled them into exciting new shapes and forms, honoring history while breathing new life into each discovery.

General admission tickets for this concert are $25 plus service fees and can be purchased in advance through the Smith box office or online at www.thesmith.org. They can also be purchased at Bottomless Brewing the night of the event. A limited number of tickets are available.

The Smith’s Jan Regan Club Series offers an intimate concert experience at venues in and around Geneva. Bottomless Brewing is a farm brewery located in a renovated old dairy barn, serving its own line of Finger Lakes beers as well as casual farm-to-table fare. Learn more at www.bottomlessbrewing.com.

The Smith Center for the Arts, stewards of the historic Smith Opera House, provides diverse arts and educational enrichment opportunities year-round for Finger Lakes residents and visitors. The Smith Opera House is at 82 Seneca St. in Geneva, NY. Box Office hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Friday. For more information, call 315-781-5483 during box office hours or visit www.thesmith.org.