Amy LaVere is an American singer, songwriter,

upright bass The double bass (), also known simply as the bass () (or by other names), is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed (or plucked) string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra (excluding unorthodox additions such as the octobass). Similar ...

player and actress based in

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mos ...

. Her music is classified as

Americana Americana may refer to: *Americana (music), a genre or style of American music *Americana (culture), artifacts of the culture of the United States Film, radio and television * ''Americana'' (1992 TV series), a documentary series presented by J ...

. She has released six albums on

Memphis Memphis most commonly refers to: * Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt * Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city Memphis may also refer to: Places United States * Memphis, Alabama * Memphis, Florida * Memphis, Indiana * Memp ...

label

Archer Records Archer Records is an independent record label with notoriety in the classical guitar and Americana genres. The label was founded in 2001 in downtown Memphis by Ward Archer, who founded Cotton Row Recording Studios in 1978 and is a former trustee of ...

, and has acting credits in motion pictures.

Early life

LaVere was born in Shreveport, Louisiana, and grew up in Bethany, Louisiana, a small

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

–

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

border town in the

Piney Woods The Piney Woods is a temperate coniferous forest terrestrial ecoregion in the Southern United States covering of East Texas, southern Arkansas, western Louisiana, and southeastern Oklahoma. These coniferous forests are dominated by several sp ...

region,Boden, Sarah
"Flash Forward"
''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the ...

'', July 13, 2008. Retrieved November 7, 2011 nurtured by musical parents with a passion for traditional country music. Her family moved 13 times by the time she entered high school, ultimately landing in

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...

where LaVere fronted the alt rockband Last Minute while still in her teens.

Career

The early 1990s found LaVere in Nashville as part of the burgeoning Lower Broadway scene, where she began to play upright bass as half of the popular roots duo The Gabe & Amy Show. By 1999, she had moved to

where she began work at

Sun Studio Sun Studio is a recording studio opened by rock-and-roll pioneer Sam Phillips at 706 Union Avenue in Memphis, Tennessee, on January 3, 1950. It was originally called Memphis Recording Service, sharing the same building with the Sun Records label ...

. In early 2006, LaVere released her debut album ''This World Is Not My Home'' on indie label

to instant national acclaim. She was joined on her album by many accomplished artists, including southern bluesman

Jimbo Mathus James H. Mathis Jr. (born August 1967), known as Jimbo Mathus, is an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and member of the swing revival band Squirrel Nut Zippers. Early life and career He was born in Oxford, Mississippi to Jimmy Mathis an ...

, formerly of the

Squirrel Nut Zippers Squirrel Nut Zippers is an American swing and jazz band formed in 1993 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, by James "Jimbo" Mathus (vocals and guitar), Tom Maxwell (vocals and guitar), Katharine Whalen (vocals, banjo, ukulele), Chris Phillips (dru ...

. The '' Los Angeles Daily News'' raved at the time, "Something like this doesn't come along every day." LaVere also began a nascent acting career starting with her cameo as

Rockabilly Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music. It dates back to the early 1950s in the United States, especially the South. As a genre it blends the sound of Western musical styles such as country with that of rhythm and blu ...

queen

Wanda Jackson Wanda LaVonne Jackson (born October 20, 1937) is an American singer and songwriter. Since the 1950s, she has recorded and released music in the genres of rock, country and gospel. She was among the first women to have a career in rock and roll, ...

in ''

Walk The Line ''Walk the Line'' is a 2005 American biographical musical romantic drama film directed by James Mangold. The screenplay, written by Mangold and Gill Dennis, is based on two autobiographies authored by singer-songwriter Johnny Cash, 1975's '' M ...

'' and continued with featured role in

Craig Brewer Craig Brewer (born December 6, 1971) is an American filmmaker. His 2005 movie ''Hustle & Flow'' won the Audience Award at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival and achieved commercial success, along with an Academy Award for Best Original Song, "It's ...

's '' Black Snake Moan''. In 2007, LaVere went into the studio with producer,

Jim Dickinson James Luther Dickinson (November 15, 1941 – August 15, 2009) was an American record producer, pianist, and singer who fronted, among others, the band Mud Boy and the Neutrons, based in Memphis, Tennessee. Biography Dickinson was born in Li ...

to record her second album, ''Anchors & Anvils''. Dickinson captured LaVere and band at his Zebra Ranch recording barn 'art project' in rural Mississippi. Archer Records released ''Anchors and Anvils'' in May 2007. Her second album rose to number six on the Americana Music Charts and earned LaVere a nomination for the Americana Music Association Awards' Best New Or Emerging Artist. She toured the United States from coast to coast, played a series of dates with The Swell Season, performed at the Austin City Limits Festival, and shared the stage at the Americana Music Conference with Lyle Lovett,

Todd Snider Todd Daniel Snider (born October 11, 1966) is an American singer-songwriter whose music incorporates elements of folk, rock, blues, alt country, and funk. Early career Todd Snider was born in Portland, Oregon, but was raised in nearby Beave ...

, and others. On October 1, 2008, she opened for

Seasick Steve Steven Gene Wold ( né Leach, 19 March 1951),/nowiki>freight_trains.html" ;"title="freight_trains.html" ;"title="/nowiki>freight trains">/nowiki>freight trains">freight_trains.html" ;"title="/nowiki>freight trains">/nowiki>freight trains/nowiki> f ...

at the Royal Albert Hall in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. In 2009 she opened for musical group Lucero on their 1372 Overton Park US Tour and also toured as a special guest with

. In 2011, LaVere released her third album ''Stranger Me'' to critical acclaim. ''

Spin Magazine ''Spin'' (stylized in all caps) is an American music magazine founded in 1985 by publisher Bob Guccione, Jr. Now owned by Next Management Partners, the magazine is an online publication since it stopped issuing a print edition in 2012. Histor ...

'' called it "the breakup album of the year." ''

Q Magazine ''Q'' was a popular music magazine published monthly in the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1986 by broadcast journalists Mark Ellen and David Hepworth, who were presenters of the BBC television music series '' The Old Grey Whistle Test''. ...

'', the ''

Daily Mirror The ''Daily Mirror'' is a British national daily tabloid. Founded in 1903, it is owned by parent company Reach plc. From 1985 to 1987, and from 1997 to 2002, the title on its masthead was simply ''The Mirror''. It had an average daily print c ...

'' and ''The Sun'' all awarded it four stars. ''

Paste Magazine ''Paste'' is a monthly music and entertainment digital magazine, headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, with studios in Atlanta and Manhattan, and owned by Paste Media Group. The magazine began as a website in 1998. It ran as a print publication fro ...

'' said: "LaVere could rest on her lyrics alone, which are witty and feisty enough to stand on their own, but by giving her band boundless license to indulge any whim or eccentricity, she has crafted a well-rounded album that is already among the year's best." In July 2011, LaVere and her band (guitarist David Cousar, violinist/keyboardist Krista Wroten-Combest and drummer Shawn Zorn), promoted the UK release of ''Stranger Me'' in London and France. On September 28, 2011, LaVere was named "Best Singer in Memphis" for the second consecutive year by the city of Memphis, Tennessee. In the spring of 2012, LaVere joined band leader

Luther Dickinson Luther Andrews Dickinson (born January 18, 1973) is the lead guitarist and vocalist for the North Mississippi Allstars and the son of record producer Jim Dickinson. He is also known for being the lead guitarist for The Black Crowes. He hosts ''G ...

(of The North Mississippi Allstars), guitarist

Shannon McNally Shannon Maureen McNally (born March 17, 1973) is an American singer and songwriter. Biography McNally was born in Hempstead, New York, on Long Island. While studying anthropology at Franklin and Marshall College, she began singing and playing ...

, banjo player Valerie June and drummer and fife player Sharde Thomas, in the quintet bluegrass group, The Wandering. They released their debut album "Go On Now, You Can't Stay Here", and spent the spring of 2012 touring after the record's release. LaVere and McNally have partnered up to tour as a duo in October 2012 as part of their "Chasing the Ghost" tour. In 2013 LaVere teamed up with Memphis musician John Paul Keith and longtime live drummer Shawn Zorn, performing and recording as "Motel Mirrors". In 2014 Amy released her 6th Studio record "Runaway's Diary". It was produced by Luther Dickinson In 2019 Amy released her 7th studio record "Painting Blue" This record was produced by her husband Will Sexton To present Amy continues to tour and write music.

Discography

*2006: ''This World Is Not My Home'' *2007: ''Anchors and Anvils'' *2009: "Died of Love" (EP) *2011: '' Stranger Me'' *2014: '' Runaway's Diary'' *2015: ''Hallelujah I'm a Dreamer'' (live album) *2019: ''Painting Blue''

Filmography

References

Watch

Amy LaVere quartet performance on November 30, 2011, at Sportsmens Tavern and Music Hall in

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from Sou ...

Set 1

Set 2

External links

Amy LaVere at Archer Records

"Amy LaVere: Country with a Cathartic Twang"
by David Dye, '' World Cafe'',

NPR National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...

, May 14, 2007
It's Anchors Away For Amy LaVere
at HonestTune.com
Amy Lavere – IMDb
profile on IMDb.com *

Paste Magazine Review * https://www.folkradio.co.uk/2020/03/amy-lavere-painting-blue/ {{DEFAULTSORT:Lavere, Amy Living people American double-bassists American women singer-songwriters People from Caddo Parish, Louisiana 21st-century double-bassists 1975 births 21st-century American women Singer-songwriters from Louisiana Thirty Tigers artists