Eugenia Riot Live at the Sou’wester

FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC

Portland, Oregon based songwriter Leigh Jones makes a dazzling turn with her latest folk creation: Eugenia Riot. The name was taken from her eldest-known female ancestor, who was born in the year 1205 in Yorkshire, England. An internationally touring musician with a background in theater, Jones delights audiences with her irresistible stage presence and enrapturing voice. She has spoken at the US Embassy in Ethiopia on Women in Music, was selected with her former band Crow and the Canyon for the American Music Abroad program, and has toured the US from coast to coast since 2010.  

She grew up in North Carolina and went on to earn a drama degree from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. Her time immersed in the diversity of NYC’s music scene sparked a passion for songwriting, and she was eventually lured to the magic of the Pacific Northwest, where continued to maximize her versatility as a musician. With her former bands, bluegrass outfit Crow and the Canyon, and harmony-driven folk trio Five Letter Word, Jones moved easily from strings to percussion, occasionally throwing on tap shoes to round out a performance. 

Her pandemic-born solo project, Eugenia Riot, explores the crescendos of love, heartache, and the human condition through infectious melodies and a self-examining pen. Featuring Abby Gundersen (Phoebe Bridgers, Noah Gundersen) on strings, Eugenia Riot’s debut album, Can’t Wait To Miss You, is both gentle and fierce, playful and romantic – an engaging blend of folk, rock, and pop.