Jewel went from a girl who grew up with no running water on an Alaskan homestead, to a homeless teenager in San Diego, to an award winning, Multi-Platinum Recording Artist who released one of the best-selling debuts of all time.
Through her career Jewel has sold over 30 million albums worldwide, earned 26 Music Award nominations, including The Grammys, American Music Awards, MTV Awards, VH1 Awards, Billboard Music Awards, and Country Music Awards, winning 8 times. Jewel has been featured on the cover of TIME Magazine, Rolling Stone, performed on Saturday Night Live, at the Super Bowl, the NBA Finals, for The Pope and The President Of The United States. She has experimented with several genres over her career with top hits in Folk, Pop, Club, Country, Standards, Children's and Holiday music.
Mental health and mindfulness has been a lifelong passion of Jewel’s. She offers free mindfulness exercises and an online mental health community at JewelNeverBroken.com.
2020 marks a momentous year for Jewel — she is celebrating the 25th anniversary of her multi-platinum debut album, “Pieces of You” with an exclusive Anniversary package of the album to be released later this year by Craft Recordings. It will give listeners a vivid insider’s look at how this album came to be, collecting all relevant rarities and previously unissued tracks in one place. In addition, Jewel has been hard at work on a new studio album and a forthcoming book. Both will be released next year with a live tour to support.
We asked Jewel a few questions:
What are you watching?
I actually haven’t been watching a ton. My son is 8 and with all of us parents taking on helping with school during quarantine, it’s sure been a lot! In our free time we tend to get outside, we are so lucky to be here in the mountains. I develop mental health tools, and work has really picked up during the pandemic, as the need is so great. But if I do get a chance to sneak in a little television, I’m watching The Mandolorian with Kase.
What are you reading?
I actually have been working on a book and hopefully in the final stages of editing. So when I read it’s usually research . If I do get a chance to pick up a book, I love reading Lucia Berlin’s short story fiction. What an American treasure. I especially love having my son read to me.
What are you listening to?
My son and I love vinyls. We have a record player and I treasure the vinyls I found along my travels. A lot of Led Zeppelin, John Prine, Beastie Boys, Neil Young. Our taste in music is quite eclectic. One morning we are listening to Loretta Lynn the next we are loving the Rolling Stones.
Any projects you're currently working on?
I have been working on several things.
First is a book. This is the second book I have written here. Telluride has been a wonderful place to write. This one is about how to change. It’s about how we create our reality and personality, and how to choose to change if we wish. We don’t get to choose what happens to us in life, but we do get to choose how it changes us.
Second, I am putting the final touches on a new album. I am really excited. I have a new song out that I just released called Grateful.
Third, I am doing a live tv show from my house -about mental health and mindfulness called "Live from San Quarantine”. I feel what we are facing a nation and as a world is three fold - the virus, the economic fall out and the mental health fall out. Suicides drastically increases during recession, and support is needed to help us adjust to a new normal. Besides the physical ailments of a virus we also have to address how mentally consuming this has been for the world. On Thursdays at 4 pm mst, we have amazing guests on mixed in with some laughter and music!
Fourth is charity work. I have enjoyed supporting the Sheridan Opera House, The Mountain School and AHAA with fundraising concerts over the years, in conjunction with my own foundation Inspiring Children. It’s harder now than ever to raise funds for charities, so I have been very busy making sure our children stay fed and in housing during this uncertain time.
What has changed for you?
Besides the obvious daily routines being uprooted, I love that there is a golden opportunity here for the world, for the human population, to slow down, to connect to our families, to see what’s important and to change. This experience is happening whether we like it or not, so I may as well look for how I can make it work for me. What if staying home is a new form of activism? I have been amazed to see how much I can do from home- and seeing staying home as a new form of activism. Our planet is happy we are moving around less, so I am looking at ways to sustain some of what I am learning right now. Maybe I do more interviews from home, more meetings via zoom. Less runs to the grocery store. Learning how to evolve to stay in relationship to nature is important to me. This has been an eye opening experience. And I’m glad to be doing it here in such a beautiful place with such an amazing community to support my son and I. I love it here.