Culture
Athens native Jon Loomis releases first album, ‘The King of Good Intentions’
By: WOUB Culture Team
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EAU CLAIRE, Wisconsin (WOUB) – Poet, novelist, and Athens native Jon Loomis released his first solo album, The King of Good Intentions, Friday.
The album’s arrival was marked with a release show that evening at 2 Roots Art & Wine Gallery (216 South Barstow Street). Produced by guitarist and rock veteran Eric “Roscoe” Ambel (Nils Lofgren, Mojo Nixon), the project represents Loomis’ first foray into professional recording—a natural extension of a long career in storytelling and songcraft.
The 10-track record pairs Loomis’ sharp lyricism with the talents of musicians including Ambel, E Street Band keyboardist Charlie Giordano, drummer Kenny Soule, Mary Lee Kortes, and Keith Voegele of The Bottle Rockets.
Loomis, who has built a national reputation as both a poet and novelist, brings his gift for narrative detail to the new record. His crime novels have earned praise from The New York Times Book Review, The Washington Post, and The Chicago Tribune, while his 2016 poetry collection The Mansion of Happiness was a Pulitzer Prize nominee.
Across The King of Good Intentions, Loomis applies that same precision and emotional insight to song form, weaving vivid characters and wry observations throughout.
Currently Professor Emeritus of creative writing at the University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire, Loomis has long balanced writing with performing. With The King of Good Intentions, Loomis unites decades of literary and musical experience into one cohesive work—available now on all major streaming platforms.