Jez Lowe

Jez Lowe

Jez Lowe is an English folk singer-songwriter from the United Kingdom, born in 1955. He is best known for songs about everyday life in North-East England, especially the area around his home town of Easington Colliery in County Durham. His writing often focuses on the decline of the coal-mining industry, the economic hardship that followed, and the social effects on local communities.

Career and style

Lowe grows out of a coal-mining family with Irish roots and is raised in County Durham. His work frequently returns to the experience of the North Country, where industrial decline and limited social opportunity become recurring subjects. Songs such as Galloways, Nearer to Nettles, and These Coal Town Days deal directly with economic conditions, while Big Meeting Day, Greek Lightning, and Last of the Widows address wider social consequences. His songs are serious in subject matter but often include a strong sense of humour.

Performing and instrumentation

He performs as a solo artist and with his backing group Jez Lowe & The Bad Pennies. He also accompanies himself and the group on guitar, harmonica, cittern, and piano.

Other collaborations

Lowe is also associated with The Pitmen Poets and Jez Lowe & Julie Matthews, and he appears alongside Bob Fox in related credited line-ups.