AMERICANA'S "STAR ON THE RISE" (BOSTON HERALD) AMY BLACK TO RECORD LIVE ALBUM WITH FULL BAND AT JOHNNY D'S JANUARY 4

SINGER-SONGWRITER TO APPEAR ON WUMB EARLIER THAT DAY

FAN PHOTO FROM THE SHOW WILL BE INCLUDED IN ALBUM ARTWORK

WITH SPECIAL GUEST ON VOCALS, WARD HAYDEN FROM BOSTON MUSIC AWARD-WINNING BAND GIRLS GUNS & GLORY

Fresh from a national tour and performing at the Americana Music Festival in Nashville, TN, singer-songwriter Amy Black will be recording a live album at Johnny D's, around the corner from her Davis Square apartment, on January 4 with her band. The Boston Globe has called her music "deeply felt," continuing, "From steely murder ballads to tender love songs that evoke bedrock country tropes, the record is Americana in its broadest definition. It's rooted in folk and country but with tinges of Southern soul and blues."

Ward Hayden from the Boston Music Award-winning band Girls Guns & Glory will sit in on the set. The band is made up of top shelf Boston-area musicians: Jim Scoppa (Duke Robillard), electric guitar, Russell Chudnofsky (Lori McKenna, Sara Borges), rhythm guitar; Lorne Entress (producer of Black's stellar album 'One Time' and drummer for Ronnie Earl), drums; John Styklunas, bass. Tom Dube of Front Of House Sound, who has worked with Rosanne Cash, Jackson Browne, Richard Thompson, and Kathleen Edwards, will engineer the live album.

The audience will have the opportunity to advance purchase the album (both CD and a download before it's even released) for $5. A group photo of all who come out will be included in the artwork for the album. Black plans to release it in the spring and mount a tour behind it.

Black will also appear live on WUMB 91.9FM at noon on January 4.

Americana Music Festival & Conference Artist Schedule

* Corb Lund AMA showcase – Wednesday, September 12, 10pm – Mercy Lounge - 1 Cannery Row

Amid raves from NPR, NY Times, UNCUT and others, Corb Lund scored a personal best with a #13 debut on the Billboard Heatseekers chart and a #60 debut on the Billboard Indie Chart for his "breakthrough" (Washington Post) album 'Cabin Fever.' The album also debuted at #1 on Billboard's Canadian Top 200 albums chart. NPR said, "Impressive… great songs… Lund finds glory in tough work, spotting characters most people would overlook, and celebrating them with colorful sketches… Corb Lund's ironic humor and keen sense of American culture is similar to Hayes Carll."

* Scott Bomar of the Bo-Keys on panel – Thursday, September 13, 2:30pm – The Music of Memphis - Sheraton Hotel, Davidson Room, 623 Union St.

Bo-Keys leader and producer Scott Bomar (Jay Reatard, Hustle & Flow, Cyndi Lauper) will also join "The Music of Memphis," a panel moderated by Memphis native and producer Rick Clark, alongside Luther Dickinson of the North Mississippi All-Stars; Jody Stephens of Memphis-based Ardent Music and musician for Big Star and Golden Smog; Robert Gordon, author of "It Came From Memphis," "Can't Be Satisfied: The Life and Times of Muddy Waters," and "Jerry Lee Lewis: Last Rocker Standing"; and John Hampton of Ardent Music and a GRAMMY-winning producer.

* Amy Black on panel - Thursday, September 13, 4:00 – 5:00 pm - Channeling Your Inner CEO: Business Best Practices Panel - Sheraton Hotel, Suite 7, 623 Union St.

Amy Black will speak on a panel, alongside moderator Ralph Jaccodine, Boston Management Group; Susan Cattaneo, Berklee College of Music; Thad Beatty, writer, instrumentalist, producer; and Dino Cattaneo, Jersey Girl Music. A latecomer to the craft of songwriting, Black spent more than a decade in the business world as a professional marketer before discovering her writing talents. The panelists will discuss setting and tracking goals; creating a strategy; smart marketing; and building a team on a shoestring budget or with no budget at all.

* The Bo-Keys AMA showcase – Thursday, September 13, 11pm – The Rutledge - 410 4th Avenue South

Memphis soul men The Bo-Keys will perform at a showcase of The Music of Memphis

on Thursday, September 13 at 11pm at the Rutledge, on a bill with Luther

Dickinson and Jim Lauderdale; “The Songs of Big Star” featuring Chris Stamey

(db’s), Mike Mills (REM), and the surviving member of Big Star’s original

lineup, Jody Stephens; and up-and-comers Star & Micey. Of The Bo-Keys, The Wall Street Journal said, “Funky[,] authentic groove… If the Bo-Keys sound like Memphis in the 1960s and early '70s, it's probably because most of the band's musicians were recording back then for the city's top labels.”

* Amy Black AMA showcase - Friday, September 14, 2:00 pm – 3:30 pm - Sheraton Hotel, Listening Lounge, 623 Union St.

Amy Black – the minister's daughter with storytelling and Southern tradition in her blood – will perform in the round with Susan Cattaneo, Rose Cousins and Rod Picott. No Depression has written, "Amy Black has a smooth, seductive sound that commands attention… [She] sings in a folk-styled country voice that suggests bits of Patty Loveless, Mary Chapin Carpenter and Judy Collins, edged by the blues of Bonnie Raitt and a hint of Jennifer Nettle’s sass." WUMB-FM Boston wrote that “her latest album, One Time, reveals her as one of the best storytelling songwriters working today.”

* Lowe Country: The Songs of Nick Lowe - Friday, September 14, 2012, 4-5pm - OutLowe Country: The Songs of Nick Lowe performance and broadcast - SiriusXM Music City Theatre, Bridgestone Arena Tower, 501 Broadway

This live radio broadcast will celebrate Nick Lowe and the new tribute album Lowe Country with performances from Robert Ellis, Caitlin Rose, Amanda Shires, Colin Gilmore, and surprise guests.

"NEWCOMER OF NOTE" (BOSTON HERALD) AMY BLACK TO SHOWCASE AT AMERICANA MUSIC FESTIVAL & CONFERENCE FRIDAY, SEPT. 14 AT SHERATON LISTENING LOUNGE

Amy Black – the minister's daughter with storytelling and Southern tradition in her blood – will perform at the Americana Music Festival in Nashville, TN on Friday, September 14. The acclaimed singer-songwriter's finely wrought and gorgeously-sung songs have earned her a following in her native New England and have begun to cement her as part of the next generation of Americana artists. She will also appear on a panel "Channeling Your Inner CEO: Business Best Practices" on Thursday, September 13.

Click here for high res photos.

No Depression has written, "Amy Black has a smooth, seductive sound that commands attention… [She] sings in a folk-styled country voice that suggests bits of Patty Loveless, Mary Chapin Carpenter and Judy Collins, edged by the blues of Bonnie Raitt and a hint of Jennifer Nettle’s sass." Her hometown Boston Herald said, "Her album, 'One Time' [is a] a stunning debut... the beautifully imagined sound and soul of her originals make her a newcomer of note." And WUMB-FM Boston wrote that “her latest album, One Time, reveals her as one of the best storytelling songwriters working today.”

Amy's live show varies from full band to duo as seen in this clip.

AMA SHOWCASE DETAILS

WHO: Amy Black, in the round with Susan Cattaneo, Rose Cousins and Rod Picott

WHAT: Americana Music Festival & Conference Official Showcase

WHEN: Friday, September 14, 2:00 pm – 3:30 pm

WHERE: Sheraton Hotel, Listening Lounge, 623 Union St., Nashville, TN

TICKETS: Open to AMA badgeholders and press; Press RSVP to Nick Loss-Eaton at nicklosseaton AT gmail.com.

PANEL DETAILS

WHO: Amy Black, alongside moderator Ralph Jaccodine, Boston Management Group; Susan Cattaneo, Berklee College of Music; Thad Beatty, writer, instrumentalist, producer; and Dino Cattaneo, Jersey Girl Music

WHAT: Channeling Your Inner CEO: Business Best Practices panel

WHERE: Sheraton Hotel, Suite 7, 623 Union St., Nashville, TN

WHEN: Thursday, September 13, 4:00 – 5:00 pm,

TICKETS: Open to AMA badgeholders and press; Press RSVP to Nick Loss-Eaton at nicklosseaton AT gmail.com.

A latecomer to the craft of songwriting, Black spent more than a decade in the business world as a professional marketer before discovering her writing talents. The panelists will discuss setting and tracking goals; creating a strategy; smart marketing; and building a team on a shoestring budget or with no budget at all.

She reflects, "I was always a singer. I grew up singing in church and joined a few bands in college, but I didn't know that I had it in me to write. I was sitting at my kitchen table one night and thought, 'You know, you should do something with your voice.' Fast forward five years and I'm a touring artist, singing my own music. I tell my audiences it's not too late to go after your dreams!" Black sold her comfortable suburban house and moved into an 800-square-foot rental in Somerville, MA, where she began to dedicate her time to writing, recording, and touring.

Filmed along Boston harbor, the video for "Whiskey & Wine" perfectly captures the song's contemplative nature as the character reconciles how two people so different could still love one another.

Click here for national tour dates.

Amy Black press photos

AMERICANA SONGSTRESS AMY BLACK ANNOUNCES NATIONAL TOUR INCLUDING AMA SHOWCASE IN NASHVILLE; SOUTHERN LEG WITH FIVE-TIME BOSTON MUSIC AWARD WINNERS GIRLS GUNS AND GLORY

BLACK COMES TO MUSIC CAREER BACKWARDS, LEAVES COMFORT OF THE SUBURBS AND TAKES TO THE ROAD

Amy Black – the minister's daughter with storytelling and Southern tradition in her blood – is launching a national tour including a showcase during the Americana Music Festival in Nashville, TN. Black is an acclaimed New England-based Americana artist with a compelling voice who has been compared to Patty Griffin and has opened for stars including Chris Isaak, Rodney Crowell, and Suzy Bogguss.

No Depression has written, "Amy Black has a smooth, seductive sound that commands attention… [She] sings in a folk-styled country voice that suggests bits of Patty Loveless, Mary Chapin Carpenter and Judy Collins, edged by the blues of Bonnie Raitt and a hint of Jennifer Nettle’s sass." Her hometown Boston Herald said, "Her album, 'One Time' [is a] a stunning debut... the beautifully imagined sound and soul of her originals make her a newcomer of note."

A latecomer to the craft of songwriting, Black spent more than a decade in the business world as a professional marketer before discovering her writing talents. She reflects, "I was always a singer. I grew up singing in church and joined a few bands in college, but I didn't know that I had it in me to write. I was sitting at my kitchen table one night and thought, 'You know, you should do something with your voice.' Fast forward five years and I'm a touring artist, singing my own music. I tell my audiences it's not too late to go after your dreams!" Black sold her comfortable suburban house and moved into an 800-square-foot rental in Somerville, MA, where she began to dedicate her time to writing, recording, and touring.

Filmed along Boston harbor, the video for "Whiskey & Wine" perfectly captures the song's contemplative nature as the character reconciles how two people so different could still love one another:

Amy's live show varies from duo as seen in this clip to full band. Several of her tour dates are with Girls Guns and Glory, about whom the Boston Globe called "Sublime… Buddy Holly-meets-Buck Owens twang ‘n’ roll," continuing, "The constant comparisons to crooners like Chris Isaak and Lyle Lovett are well-deserved — and his band’s amber-soaked melodies, tight musicianship, and casual elegance were a tonic."

Girls Guns and Glory is the brainchild of Lonesome Day recording artist Ward Hayden. GGG is now an internationally touring band, a two-time winner of both the Roots Act of Year (Boston Phoenix Awards), and five-time winner of Americana Act of the Year (Boston Music Awards). GGG is also the only band of its genre to ever take home the top honors of Act of the Year (Boston Music Awards) and to win the legendary WBCN Rock ‘n’ Roll Rumble.

AMY BLACK 2012 TOUR DATES

Friday, September 7, 2012 - The Skinny Pancake - Burlington, VT

Friday, September 14, 2012 - Americana Music Festival, Convention Center -  Nashville, TN

Sunday, September 16, 2012 - Canterbury Shaker Village - Canterbury, NH

Friday, September 21, 2012 – The Saint – Asbury Park, NJ

Saturday, September 22, 2012 - Listen Live Music - Macungie, PA

Friday, September 28, 2012 - Iron Horse - Northampton, MA (w/ The Lori McKenna Band)

Saturday, September 29, 2012 - Johnny D's - Somerville, MA

Saturday, October 6, 2012 - Off the Common Coffeehouse - Bridgewater, MA

Saturday, October 13, 2012 - The Vanilla Bean Café - Pomfret, CT (United States)

Sunday, October 14, 2012 - Rodeo Bar - New York, NY (Girls Guns and Glory)

Monday, October 15, 2012 - House Concert - Sheffield, AL

Tuesday, October 16, 2012 – The Bluebird Café - Nashville, TN (w/ Rod Picott & Ward Hayden, in the Round)

Friday, October 19, 2012 – The National Underground - Nashville, TN (w/ Girls Guns and Glory)

Saturday, October 20, 2012 - Charles & Myrtle's Coffeehouse - Chattanooga, TN (w/ Girls Guns and Glory)

Sunday, October 21, 2012 - Eddie's Attic - Decatur, GA (w/ Girls Guns and Glory)          

Thursday, October 25, 2012 - Narrows Center for the Arts - Fall River, MA (w/ Rodney Crowell)

Saturday, November 3, 2012 - Old Sloop Coffeehouse - Rockport, MA          

Sunday, November 4, 2012 - The City Island Community Center - City Island, NY

Friday, November 9, 2012 – NERFA - Kerhonkson, NY

Saturday, November 10, 2012 – NERFA - Kerhonkson, NY

Friday, November 30, 2012 - Godfrey Daniels - Bethlehem, PA

Friday, December 7, 2012 - Bridge Street Live - Collinsville, CT (with John Gorka)