Amy Speace

Bio

Amy Speace has already won a loyal grass-roots fan base, thanks in large part to live performances that merge warmth, humor and emotional immediacy, and to a tireless touring schedule that's already taken her across the United States. She's also won considerable critical acclaim, with The Village Voice observing that Speace is "taking her Americana away from twangy contemplation toward tangy confrontation" and noting that she's "not another of those breathy would-be child poets, but a real singing writer of songs." Time Out New York stated, "Amy Speace plays sweet, twangy folk music with a clear voice and an innocent vulnerability," while The Nashville Scene noted that she "balances wry humor with open-hearted honesty." And renowned Nashville critic Robert K. Oermann, writing in Music Row, dubbed her a "new star." Speace's vividly drawn songs reflect the wealth of experience that the artist has packed into her young life. The Baltimore native spent much of her youth in Minnesota and rural Pennsylvania, and studied piano, clarinet and saxophone. While attending Amherst College, she acted in student stage productions while pursuing a passion for opera that led her to study classical voice in New York City. After graduating, she moved to Manhattan, where her acting talents won her a spot with the prestigious National Shakespeare Company (her portrayal of Katherine in Henry V won a rave review from the New York Times) and roles in various off-Broadway production and several independent films. She also wrote and directed plays while running her own theater company in Manhattan's East Village, taught Shakespeare in the New York City school system, temped, waited tables and even did a stint as actress Lainie Kazan's personal assistant.

INFLUENCES

Lucinda Williams, Bob Dylan, Matthew Sweet, Patty Griffin, The Band, Ryan Adams, Steve Earl, Johnny Cash, Patsy Cline, Leonard Cohen, Joni Mitchell, Uncle Tupelo, Wilco, Jay Farrar, Neil Young, Buddy Miller, Alejandro Escovedo, Neil Diamond, Dolly Parton, Iron and Wine, Willie Nelson, early Linda Rostadt, early early Joan Baez, Hem, Robbie Fulks, Jill Sobule, Emmylou Harris, Springsteen, Zepplin, Tumbleweed, Elton John, Elvis Costello