onceuponaman: Who is Amy LaVere?

Who is Amy LaVere? The American music world knows her as a singer, songwriter, upright bass player and actress. Her music is classified as Americana, combining a blend of classic country, gypsy jazz, and southern soul. She has released two albums on Memphis label Archer Records, and has multiple acting credits in major motion pictures.

Early life

Amy LaVere was born in a small Texas/Louisiana border town, 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 where Amy fronted the punk band 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 Memphis where the city's diverse music community quickly embraced her unique style.

In early 2006, LaVere released her debut album This World Is Not My Home on indie label Archer Records to instant national acclaim. She was joined on her album by many accomplished artists, including notorious southern bluesman Jimbo Mathus, formerly of the Squirrel Nut Zippers. The Los Angeles Daily News raved at the time, "Something like this doesn't come along every day." LaVere has also begun a nascent acting career that began with her cameo as Rockabilly queen Wanda Jackson in Walk The Line and continued with featured role in Craig Brewer’s Black Snake Moan.

In 2007, Amy went into the studio with acclaimed producer, Jim Dickinson to record her second album, Anchors & Anvils. Dickinson has previously produced albums for Ry Cooder, Aretha Franklin, The Rolling Stones (Sticky Fingers) and Bob Dylan (in a 40-year relationship that has extended from Blonde on Blonde to Time Out Of Mind), and whose landmark role as producer includes such eclectic classics as Big Star's Third/Sister Lovers, The Replacements' Pleased to Meet Me and Dickinson's sons' seminal the North Mississippi Allstars – captured Amy and band at his Zebra Ranch recording barn/'art project' in rural Mississippi.

Archer Records released Anchors and Anvils in May 2007, and the critics instantly latched onto LaVere's album as a refreshing example of noirish southern storytelling. Her second album rose to number six on the Americana Music Charts and earned Amy a nomination for the Americana Music Association Awards' Best New Or Emerging Artist. In addition to her critical recognition, she toured the United States from coast to coast, receiving rave reviews for her genuine and powerful performances. She played a series of dates with The Swell Season, had a breakout performance at Austin City Limits Festival, and shared the stage at the Americana Music Conference with Lyle Lovett, Todd Snider, and others. She continues to tour and looks to expand her dates internationally, where she has already developed a strong radio following.