Loudoun County’s rich and active music scene continues to grow in volume. Over the last 10 years, the number of local venues has increased considerably, resulting in new stages for just about anyone who has a polished act ready to share. The unique camaraderie that exists between members of the area’s music community is welcoming, tangible and includes many seasoned players who have been performing music together here for decades.
Loudoun also has produced several singer-songwriters who have taken their music to a higher level professionally by entering the studio and issuing albums, including Juliana MacDowell, a Leesburger who in a few short years has created an extraordinary body of work of “national” caliber.
Her third album, Big Old Yellow Moon, kept us mesmerized and intrigued as she celebrated life and bared her soul to us as if we were all her lifelong friends. For this album, Juliana enlisted the immense talent and experience of Bil VornDick, a legendary Nashville music veteran who produced artists like Allison Krause and Bela Fleck, at the renowned Ocean Way studio. Big Old Yellow Moon ended up being Bil’s last effort before passing away unexpectedly last summer before the album was completed. Juliana was chosen to perform at Bil’s memorial, which was attended by some of Nashville’s Music Row royalty.
Knowing it would require someone very special to finish the album, Juliana turned to long-time producer and close friend, Ian Shaw, with whom she worked on her 2019 album, Leaving Home.
Says Ian, “Juliana has such a unique and wonderful voice, and it is quite rare that someone not in their 20s comes forward with her innate songwriting and vocal talent to compose such an advanced level of music right out of the gate. She is so terrific to work with and is open to all ideas and trying different musicians.” Of Big Old Yellow Moon, Ian says, “This album is a collection of very sophisticated and beautifully arranged adult songs that I would describe as ‘Country Americana,’ as it is obvious that the record was recorded in Nashville. It is also a very transitional album for Juliana, as it concisely concludes one chapter of her life and prepares us all for an exciting new one.”
Juliana’s passion for music was triggered when she was three years old by her great-grandfather, Otis Beall Kent, who was a successful attorney and investor in Maryland. “He had a music room in his house that included several different organs, and a Steinway piano. In a large closet, he had a collection of what was then state-of-the-art recording equipment. We would sit together on that piano bench and he would play and we would sing together for hours at a time. That Steinway piano now sits in my foyer.” Juliana says.
To deliver her music to live audiences, Juliana brought together The Agreeables, an elite ensemble of the area’s finest players that includes her musical partner and collaborator, local Guitar Hero Mike Ault. Mike has been a fixture in several successful NOVA bands and supported many of our area’s most celebrated artists for decades. He has toured the world as a member of famed luthier Paul Reed Smith’s band and is on the short list of preferred players at the area’s busiest studios. When you add the veteran rhythm section of Andy Hamburger on drums and Sonny Petrosky playing bass, you are in for an extraordinary musical experience as Juliana guides you through her considerable catalogue during her live shows.
She describes her live performances as “transcendence. When you’re performing and connecting with people, you’re having a great show, and the audience is having a fun experience, time seems to stop and the music blocks every other distraction out. I treat every show as a special place in time.”
Jules and the Agreeables made their performance at The Barns of Rose Hill in Berryville special in February by unveiling a music video of Never Say Goodbye from an upcoming album to be released later this year. The video was a treat to the audience because it was shot entirely in Loudoun County, beginning with the jewelry counter at Ketterman’s Jewelers. (Watch it at https://bit.ly/MacDowellGoodbye.) For more videos, and to learn more about Juliana, her music and her upcoming performances, visit her website at: www.julianamacdowell.com
And, last but not least, on Sunday, May 19th, Jules and the Agreeables will be performing again at the Big, Bad Brass Party 2024 with their friends Jumptown in the Pavilion at Creek’s Edge Winery in Taylorstown. In a follow-up to their sold-out Big, Bad Brass Party last Spring, the bands will be alternating sets throughout the night, and will feature a combined band jam before the festivities end at 10:00 p.m. Tickets for the event are on sale at: https://bit.ly/BigBadBrass2024.
"Nothing's getting clearer, In my rear-view mirror, Yesterday's a memory on the run..." Juliana MacDowell
