Sean Kiely / E'Lon JD / John Howie Jr.

Thu, Apr 2, 2026

7:00 PM

The Reeves Theater

Sean Kiely

Sean Kiely is a folk musician, mostly acoustic but sometimes not, from Jersey City, NJ. His most recent record "Postcards of the Reckoning" was named one of the top 10 albums of 2024 by NJ.com and debuted at #15 on the FAI Folk Chart.

Kiely's lyrics "summon epiphanies and moments of clarity in the middle of storms" and his music chases beauty to unexpected yet inevitable conclusions. In February '25 Kiely opened for the legendary Richard Thompson at a sold-out White Eagle Hall in Jersey City, and performed live in-studio at WFUV. His music was recognized by the Jersey City Arts Council and NERFA. No Depression wrote that his debut album "Your Logo, My Logo is one of those sublime and unassuming efforts that sneaks up on you until you find it won’t let go."

Learn more at https://www.seankielymusic.com/

E'Lon JD

E’Lon Bruce Jordan-Dunlap a.k.a E’Lon JD is an American bass player, songwriter, performer and educator. E'Lon has performed on stages as far east as Almaty, Kazakhstan and as far west as Los Angeles, California and can be found on tour anywhere in between. His sound combines elements of soul, funk, jazz, and rock and could be described best as progressive soul, melodic driven, feel good music.

He has recorded with acts such as, Phony Ppl, and The Gregory Bros., and has shared the stage with Belá Fleck, Members of Snarky Puppy, Victor Wooten, and Weedie Braimah and the Hands of Time. He is currently the bass player in the internationally touring band Jonathan Scales Fourchestra. E'Lon JD is a musical furnace burning up stages and warming up our hearts across the globe.

Learn more at https://www.elonjd.com/

John Howie Jr.

John Howie, Jr. comes across as approachable, accommodating, confident yet humble. He’s also blessed with a natural baritone that’s perfectly suited for country music. We’re talking pure honky-tonk country. With the Two Dollar Pistols and the Rosewood Bluff, Howie writes and performs songs that require a sawdust floor, a jukebox, and a sympathetic ear. Now, with his first solo outing, he’s delivered another album that can stand alongside the greats in Ernest Tubb’s Record Shop on Broadway in Nashville.

John Howie, Jr.’s first love was drums. “I started playing drums in 1981, so I would’ve been 12,” he remembers, “and I did that forever."

In his mid-20s, Howie discovered he wanted to try his hand at more songwriting. “Right around 1995, I sat down with my dad’s acoustic and decided to just let the songs come out, and when they did, they came out as George Jones imitations.”

Yet being a country singer was not always Howie’s goal, nor was he always a country music fan. “I grew up hearing that stuff a lot. My dad was really into Waylon, Willie, Merle Haggard, as well as the blues. Dad was from Mississippi, so he loved folks like Howlin’ Wolf. My mom was a jazz piano player and that’s all she listened to; Bill Evans and Oscar Peterson, Sarah Vaughan and stuff like that.”

By the time Howie became a teenager, he did what all teenagers do. He found his own music. “You know, Sex Pistols, Ramones. There was nothing for me to rebel against, I just didn’t want to be associated with what my folks’ tastes were.” n his late teens, Howie “dropped out of college, worked part-time at the tax department, bought a ticket, and bummed around Europe playing drums for a punk band.

“The leader of that band was really into Johnny Cash, and I had just gotten into the Burrito Brothers – this was around ’88 – and he was the first person I’d met around my age who liked the same stuff I did and also the kind of stuff my dad liked, which I kinda needed someone who wasn’t from my dad’s generation to say, ‘no no, it’s ok!’ and once that happened, I fell in love with it.”

Through it all, Howie is still able to put everything in perspective. “Relationships end,” he said. “I’m in a fortunate place. I’ve lived in Chapel Hill since 1991. I’ve been married twice. I’ve had 10 or 12 relationships, and I’m on relatively good terms with all of them. Relationships are messy. People get upset, they get angry, they get pissed off, they get bitter.” Yet, he’s found what’s important in life for him, and he’s taking stock in where he’s been and enjoying where he is now. “I’m somebody’s dad. I write songs and make records, you know? Those are the priorities for me.”