Meet the band: Jordan Earnshaw (Violin)
This month, Polis catches up with violinist - and Swing Into Christmas 2025 poster girl - Jordan Earnshaw!
When did you start playing the violin?
I wanted my parents to buy me a violin from about the age of four. I never wanted to play any other instrument. My mum will say it’s because she played Mendelssohn’s violin concertos when she was pregnant with me. There was also a piece I used to call ‘the bird piece’ – I’m pretty sure it was Vivaldi’s Spring – and I used to love dancing to that.
You grew up in Huddersfield, right? Was there much of a music scene when you were growing up?
Yeah, because of the uni there was a lot going on, and there was a fantastic music school where my lessons were. And because the BBC Philharmonic are based in Manchester, they’d sometimes come and do concerts in the Town Hall. I started going to string ensembles pretty much when I started learning at about five-and-a-half, and it just never stopped.
How did you get into jazz and swing music?
We had a massive jazz department at Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, where I studied, and I was really good friends with the jazzers there. I always liked going to their gigs.
Ah, yes – you’re the one who bought us all the Welsh cakes when we were at Royal Welsh on the last Christmas tour.
And I will do it again this year! Cardiff’s brilliant and it was so nice to be back, playing as a professional on that stage. The last time I was there was just before Covid – March 2020. A week later, everything shut down. So it was really special to be back. I’m in London now but so many of my friends are people I met in Cardiff. Even Tom, my other half.
What musicians do you like to listen to? Any influences?
I like musicians who put things together from different genres. One of my favourite albums is Nigel Kennedy’s Recital. It’s really cool – a fusion of jazz and classical, even a bit of reggae. When I was at Royal Welsh, we had this funky folk band that was influenced by Joe Broughton's Conservatoire Folk Ensemble, who’d do things like putting saxophone to classic folk beats. So I’d say my influences are people who take classical music and… mess it up a bit!
How long have you been with Down for the Count and how did you first get involved?
I knew loads of people who had done it before and whenever Down for the Count cropped up on the socials, I’d think, “That looks like fun, I want to do that!” So I emailed Mike, and it just so happened that he was looking for people for last year’s Christmas tour. He asked if I could do any of the dates and I could do all of them, so I did.
The Swing Into Christmas 2024 Survivor's Photo. Jordan was one of 8 team members who was at every show!
What’s the best thing about performing with Down for the Count?
They’re my kind of people – we instantly got on like a house on fire. When you’ve not got a nice group of people, touring can be tedious. But with Down for the Count, after every show, we all want to hang out together rather than everyone disappearing off to their rooms. I’ve made such good friends with people I’m now having ‘round for dinner, when I didn’t even know them this time last year!
Do you have a favourite memory with Down for the Count?
One of the best nights of the tour was probably Newcastle. We all stayed up in the Travelodge bar till about 3am – and that was when I was doing my 5k run every morning in every city! I did it after that night, too, and I’m so proud of that.
Are you looking forward to any particular gigs?
Celebrating Sammy Davis Jr will be a nice little warm-up for Christmas. I probably shouldn’t admit this, but I didn’t really know any Sammy Davis Jr tracks apart from Candyman, when I was listening to Elaine Page’s show (that’s how exciting my life is, listening to Elaine Page while I’m driving to gigs!) and she said it was his only number 1.
What musical projects are you involved with outside of Down for the Count?
I’m doing some side-by-side work with British Youth Music Theatre in August – I’ll be the professional, even though I feel like I should be getting the education! I do lots of musical theatre work, so there’ll be loads of that, plus depping on a show called Stiletto. It’s quite nice doingnew musicals. Everyone’s familiar with the big ones, but there’s some really good new stuff coming through.
What are your hobbies when not performing?
I do kickboxing, but I haven’t been in a while – I’ve been so busy. I do lots of running. Since getting a house, I’ve got into gardening, which I never thought I’d hear myself say. I’m the very proud owner of two tomatoes on my tomato plant. I’m learning Japanese because my partner is half Japanese. I’m dreadful at it. I managed to get a 250-day streak on Duolingo, but when we went to Japan in April, I was a complete embarrassment. My aim is to carry on and become at least a little bit conversational.
About the author
Polis Loizou-Denyer is Down for the Count's marketing and communications officer. Though it's a long time since he played an instrument himself, he likes to keep creative with his own writing, performing, theatre making, filmmaking and oral storytelling.
