Fans of the Jayhawks already have a few reasons to celebrate this year. Not only have two of the Minneapolis alt-country gods' best-loved albums, 1992's Hollywood Town Hall and its follow-up Tomorrow The Green Grass, just been reissued in Sony/Legacy expanded editions, but the band's classic lineup featuring both of its founders, Gary Louris and Mark Olson, is back on the road.
The Jayhawks kicked off what is being billed as a reunion tour on Tuesday (January 18) at Toronto's Phoenix Concert Theatre, but Olson tells Exclaim! that it's really a full-time return. The best news for fans is that they can expect a new all-original Jayhawks album within the next five to six months.
"What it all came down to was that enough people asked us about playing as a band again that we realized that since we're healthy, we'd be crazy not to do it," Olson says.
Olson left the band following Green Grass to work with his then-wife, singer-songwriter Victoria Williams. Louris carried on leading the Jayhawks until 2004, upon which he tested the waters as a solo artist and moved into production, notably with Toronto's the Sadies. Louris and Olson got together again in 2005 to play acoustic shows as a duo, which led to their 2009 album Ready for the Flood.
Yet once the reissue project got underway last year, Olson says it was natural to start thinking about recording as the Jayhawks again.
"[The new album] is close to being done. I'm waiting to listen to final choices of mixes now, and I'm really excited," he says. "I feel that it's top-notch and that people will enjoy it."
You can read a review of the Jayhawks' Toronto performance here and check out all their remaining reuion dates here.
The Jayhawks kicked off what is being billed as a reunion tour on Tuesday (January 18) at Toronto's Phoenix Concert Theatre, but Olson tells Exclaim! that it's really a full-time return. The best news for fans is that they can expect a new all-original Jayhawks album within the next five to six months.
"What it all came down to was that enough people asked us about playing as a band again that we realized that since we're healthy, we'd be crazy not to do it," Olson says.
Olson left the band following Green Grass to work with his then-wife, singer-songwriter Victoria Williams. Louris carried on leading the Jayhawks until 2004, upon which he tested the waters as a solo artist and moved into production, notably with Toronto's the Sadies. Louris and Olson got together again in 2005 to play acoustic shows as a duo, which led to their 2009 album Ready for the Flood.
Yet once the reissue project got underway last year, Olson says it was natural to start thinking about recording as the Jayhawks again.
"[The new album] is close to being done. I'm waiting to listen to final choices of mixes now, and I'm really excited," he says. "I feel that it's top-notch and that people will enjoy it."
You can read a review of the Jayhawks' Toronto performance here and check out all their remaining reuion dates here.
