Description
Lonesome Highway was born out of revelry and resolution in a redwood cabin tucked into the California coast, endowed with a spirit simmering in wanderlust and ornamented with the rich traditions of the Louisiana bayou. It marks the resilient return of Irena Eide aka Rainy Eyes. The second studio album by the Norway-born, Lafayette, Louisiana-based singer/songwriter, its 11 songs sober up the soul and send it back stronger onto the blacktop.
Rainy grew up fast. At 18, she left her native Norway for Denmark. Within a year, she fell in love with an American free-jazz saxophonist and eloped to Northern California. In quick succession, she had a son, followed by her marriage splintering. Rainy reflected on the juxtaposition of these circumstances. She was basking in the joy of motherhood as she simultaneously confronted a relationship that had turned toxic. Retreating just outside of San Francisco to a cabin in the hills of Bolinas looking down upon the Pacific Ocean, she began writing as a means to cope and reflect on these experiences. She gathered with friends and experimented with songs, sounds, and psychedelics. Ric Robertson and Gina Leslie from New Orleans, Phoebe Hunt from Nashville, as well as Bay-area locals Sam Grisman and Jeremy D’Antonio all played a hand. Together a creative spark was lit and and helped the initial vision for Lonesome Highway come alive.
As Rainy’s situation in California turned untenable, she felt the pull of south Louisiana. Drawn by the music and culture of the region, she relocated to Lafayette where she connected with the roots of her musical influences and found time and space to slow down and work on her craft. She forged a friendship with artist and producer Dirk Powell, sharing with him the demos made during those cathartic cabin sessions back in Bolinas. Powell heard a potential album within songs like “Lonesome Highway,” “Idaho” and “Faded Away.” They soon hunkered down in his bayou studios among the cypress trees, setting out to fulfill the promise of what Rainy had begun. He suggested she track a few more recently written songs, including “Misty Mama,” “Just a Little Rain” and “You Just Want What You Can’t Have,” adding local Lafayette musicians Chris Stafford on pedal steel, Eric Adcock on B3 and Dirk’s daughters Amelia and Sophie Powell on harmonies.
The result is Lonesome Highway, a hope-filled and assertive new beginning for Rainy Eyes. Electric guitar and drums now join fiddle and banjo. Highways and mountains offer optimism and escape. Leaving leads to self discovery. Breaking cycles, trusting the universe, and allowing the higher self to lead the way.