Jackie Jae & Jason Cowsill

Since they were kids, they were drawn to music, so it’s fitting that music is what brought them together…

Jason was playing at a local Jazz club Sunday evenings when they met in 2007. One night, while singing a Beatles tune (Norwegian Wood for those interested), Jackie walked up and stood expectantly next to the stage.

"Yeah, I basically crashed his show," Jackie recalls. "He was singing the John [Lennon] part and I knew the Paul [McCartney] part, so I jumped up and told him I wanted to harmonize with him. It was kind of magical," she laughs. "But then the song ended and I just thanked him. I threw $10 into the tip jar and disappeared. I didn’t even give him my name!"

Jason, son of Bob Cowsill of "The Cowsills" (the family band - yes, his family - that inspired the 1970s television show The Partridge Family), spent a lot of his childhood bouncing around venues, recording studios, and rehearsal spaces. He began creating his own music when he first picked up the guitar in his early teens. With an impressive vocal range and skillful musicianship added to his comfort on stage and unpretentious demeanor, Jason has charmed audiences onstage and off his entire life. For over two decades he performed solo, reaching audiences nationwide. His first album, "The Shape of the Journey", released in 2003, was met with great reviews, described as "music with an identity, created by an artist who is clearly comfortable in his own skin".

Jackie performed with numerous popular cover bands in Arizona and California, opening for legendary acts like Jan & Dean and Jack Johnson, as well as headlining events nationally and internationally. Her powerful lead vocals and smoothly blended harmonies, combined with a winning smile and dynamic stage presence, made her a standout talent in whatever group she performed with. From Las Vegas to Vail, Hawaii to Hong Kong, Jackie has sung for well-known clients like Hewlett Packard, Johnson & Johnson, The United States Marine Corp, and many others. Her versatile, soulful vocals are reminiscent of the artists she admires: Annie Lennox, Aretha Franklin, Janis Joplin, Patsy Cline and others.

It took a few months following their initial meeting before Jackie and Jason reconnected, but once they did, they began performing together regularly. Their acoustic show of harmony-driven tunes quickly made them regional favorites. The next few years brought a steadily increasing number of performances locally and nationally, and before too long, their show was augmented with a full band, The Blue Valentines.  

The Blue Valentines were known for Jackie and Jason’s beautiful harmonies as well as strong individual vocals, and the musicianship of all involved. From 2010 - 2016 they provided renditions of audience favorites from the 40’s to today, combining elements of outlaw country, roots, rock, blues and pop into an overall mix that was undeniably rock ’n’ roll and addictively entertaining. In describing the band, Jason would often quote Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones, saying “It’s music for the neck downwards.”

Shortly after they were married in 2010, they began work on their first co-written album under the name Troupe Carnivàle. The resulting album "Skaal Krush" was released in 2012 and after gathering a number of talented professionals to round out the band, Troupe Carnivàle performed around the Pacific Northwest until 2016.

So they were busy. With two bands, and also continuing to perform as a duo, all the while navigating their day jobs (which were needed to pay the rest of the bills!), there was little time for much else.

In 2016 they officially retired the Blue Valentines, after an amazing six years, and put Troupe Carnivàle’s performances on hold in order to focus on writing new material, recording, and simplifying things for a while.

These days they’ve returned to their roots and you can find them performing as a duo in and around the Pacific Northwest.