Bryce Janey is an American

blues rock Blues rock is a fusion music genre that combines elements of blues and rock music. It is mostly an electric ensemble-style music with instrumentation similar to electric blues and rock (electric guitar, electric bass guitar, and drums, sometimes w ...

singer, guitarist, and songwriter. He has performed onstage with

Kenny Neal Kenny Neal (born October 14, 1957), is an American blues guitar player, singer and band member. Neal was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, the son of Raful Neal, and he comes from a musical family. He has often performed with his brothers in his ...

, Buddy Guy, Tab Benoit, and Koko Taylor. In 2007, Janey was inducted into the

Iowa Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame The Iowa Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame is a museum located in Arnolds Park, Iowa, and maintained by the non-profit Iowa Rock 'n' Roll Music Association (IRRMA). The mission of IRRMA is to "retain and honor the legacy of rock 'n' roll music and preserv ...

. Including his October 2022 release, ''Blue Moon Rising'', Janey has issued 13 solo albums since 1995.

Life and career

He was born in Marion, Iowa, United States. He began his career at the age of 13, performing on guitar alongside his father (guitar) and mother (drums) in a family-based blues rock trio, the Janeys. They played across the area from Chicago, Illinois, to Los Angeles, California. The family later relocated to

Cedar Rapids, Iowa Cedar Rapids () is the second-largest city in Iowa, United States and is the county seat of Linn County, Iowa, Linn County. The city lies on both banks of the Cedar River (Iowa River), Cedar River, north of Iowa City, Iowa, Iowa City and north ...

. The Janeys shared a stage with acts including Buddy Guy,

Delbert McClinton Delbert McClinton (born November 4, 1940) is an American blues rock and electric blues singer-songwriter, guitarist, harmonica player, and pianist. From his first professional stage appearance in 1957 to his most recent national tour in 2018, ...

Blues Traveler Blues Traveler (formerly known as "The Establishment" or "The Black Cat Jam" or "The Establishment Blues Band") is an American rock band that formed in Princeton, New Jersey in 1987. They are known for extensive use of segues in live performance ...

, Johnny Winter, and

Elvin Bishop Elvin Richard Bishop (born October 21, 1942) is an American blues and rock music singer, guitarist, bandleader, and songwriter. An original member of the Paul Butterfield Blues Band, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a membe ...

. Both he and his father, Billy Lee Janey, were inducted in to the

. The duo sometimes still perform in a four- or five-piece band billed as the Janeys; although his mother no longer performs with them. Even though he was still performing with the Janeys at the time, Bryce Janey launched his solo career in 1995, and released his debut album, ''Practice What You Preach'', that year. His next solo release was ''Sweet Baby Jane'' (1998) via Blue Sunday Entertainment. In 1999, ''Bare Wire'', was issued on Hot Fudge Records and garnered some positive trade magazine reviews. The same year Janey joined the Cedar Falls-based outfit, the Blue Band, as vocalist and guitarist. Janey was in the Blue Band from 1999 to 2002. In 2001, he released his first solo live album, ''Live at J.M. O'Malley's''. In 2010, he released ''Blues In My Soul''. It was Janey's sixth solo release, and featured 13 tracks and saw Janey backed by Dan Johnson (bass) and Eric Douglas (drums). The album was recorded at

Catamount Recording Studio Catamount Recording Studio is a professional music recording studio in Cedar Falls, Iowa. Tom Tatman, Rick Bisbey and Bill Barker established the studio as a rehearsal and recording space for their band, Headstone. In 1980 the studio opened to the p ...

and produced by Tom Tatman. ''Game of Life'' followed in 2011, which saw a release party held in

Cedar Rapids Cedar Rapids () is the second-largest city in Iowa, United States and is the county seat of Linn County. The city lies on both banks of the Cedar River, north of Iowa City and northeast of Des Moines, the state's capital and largest city. ...

. The album was Janey's eighth solo release and his second on the Grooveyard Records label. ''Game of Life'' again featured the rhythm section of Dan Johnson and Eric Douglas. Janey triumphed at the Iowa Blues Challenge in 2011, and in 2012 was an International Blues Challenge semi-finalist in Memphis, Tennessee. With his father, Billy Lee Janey, Bryce Janey stated at the time "we did a handful of festivals together this summer and will release a new Janey's Band CD for Grooveyard this winter". In 2011, he released two albums: ''Down Home Blues'' and ''Game of Life''. Janey also played part-time with Perry Welsh and Tommy "T-Bone" Giblin in a band called the Pumpers. ''Delta Road'' (2015) was the tenth album recorded by Janey, with Johnson and Douglas providing the rhythm. Perry Welsh played

harmonica The harmonica, also known as a French harp or mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used worldwide in many musical genres, notably in blues, American folk music, classical music, jazz, country, and rock. The many types of harmonica inclu ...

on Janey's acoustic dobro version of Robert Johnson's, " Hellhound on My Trail". The other non-original on ''Delta Road'' was Janey's take on Rory Gallagher's "Lonesome Highway". His CD, ''Brand New Day'', (2018) was preceded by a mainly acoustic album, ''Organic Man'' (2016). In September 2021, Janey played live at the Electric Thread Social Club's Patio, Hotel Millwright, in

Amana, Iowa The Amana Colonies are seven villages on located in Iowa County in east-central Iowa, United States: Amana (or Main Amana, German: ''Haupt-Amana''), East Amana, High Amana, Middle Amana, South Amana, West Amana, and Homestead. The villages ...

. Janey has released a number of albums on Grooveyard Records, who are based out of Rochester, New York. He has performed at many major music festivals and clubs over the years including: B.B. Kings Blues Club in Memphis, Blues Excreta Club in Chicago, Illinois, the Kansas City Blues and Jazz Festival, Beale Street Music Festival, Buddy Guy's Legends Blues Fest (

Chicago Blues Festival The Chicago Blues Festival is an annual event held in June, that features three days of performances by top-tier blues musicians, both old favorites and the up-and-coming. It is hosted by the Chicago, Illinois, City of Chicago Department of Cu ...

, 1990), Ribfest-Fort Wayne, Indiana and the Mississippi Valley Blues Festival in 2012.

Discography

Albums

References

External links

Official websiteBryce Janey - "Down Home Blues" video (2011) @ YouTubeFacebook page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Janey, Bryce Year of birth missing (living people) Living people American blues singers American blues guitarists American blues singer-songwriters Blues rock musicians American male guitarists American male songwriters Songwriters from Iowa Guitarists from Iowa Singers from Iowa People from Marion, Iowa 20th-century American male singers 20th-century American singer-songwriters 20th-century American guitarists 21st-century American male singers 21st-century American singer-songwriters 21st-century American guitarists