“Amy Speace seems to have the most reliable muse in Music City and an ear for sonic settings that help her carefully chosen words soar and drift. Just when we thought she couldn’t be any more vulnerable, she arrived this year with Tucson, an album written largely at a recovery center where Speace confronted some early life trauma and its long shadows. If a folk artist is supposed to share everything while teaching us something about ourselves, Speace is an exemplar.”
“Amy Speace is on a roll. Each new release has brought an expansion of her voice and her art, and she has reached the level of absolute mastery. Folk music doesn’t get any better than this.”
Bio
5/5 stars - American Songwriter Magazine!
4/4 stars - Mojo Magazine!
9/10 stars - Americana-UK
Heralded by Rolling Stone and Billboard Magazine, Amy Speace is one of contemporary folk and Americana music’s leading voices of the new generation. Lauded by mentors Judy Collins, Tom Paxton and Janis Ian, as well as the songwriting community in Nashville, her songs have been recorded by Judy Collins, Red Molly, Sid Selvidge among others. After 20 years of touring, she has played concerts all across the US and Europe and has graced stages from Glastonbury Festival, Cambridge Folk Festival in the UK to Rocky Mountain Folks Festival and Mountain Stage.
She began her career in the iconic folk venues of New York City where she was discovered by Judy Collins and signed to her Wildflower Records label. Relocating to Nashville in 2009, she quickly became embraced by the songwriting community, with regular shows at The Bluebird Café as well as her international touring. In 2020, her song “Me and the Ghost of Charlemagne” was named International Song of the Year by the Americana Music Association UK. Her 2021 release, “There Used To Be Horses Here” received widespread critical acclaim from Rolling Stone to Billboard. Performing Songwriter gave it 5 out of 5 stars and named it as the #4 release of 2021. Her latest album, “Tucson” (Windbone/Proper Records) landed #1 on the Folk Radio Charts in April, 2022 and was widely lauded as one of Speace’s finest work. This year, her 2013 record, “How To Sleep In A Stormy Boat,” which was featured on NPR’s All Things Considered was named to the Top 10 Albums of the century.
A “writer’s writer”, she is a published poet, with pieces appearing in 2022’s Spring edition of 2River Review and Euophia. Her essays have been published in The New York Times, Salon.com, American Songwriter, No Depression.
Discography
1998: Tattooed Queen, Edith O (Amy Speace & Erin Ash). Self produced. Recorded in Hoboken, NJ
2002: Fable (Self Release). Produced by John Abbey. Recorded in Brooklyn, NY
2006: Songs For Bright Street, Wildflower Records. Produced by James Mastro. Recorded in Hoboken, NJ
2009: The Killer In Me, Wildflower Records. Produced by James Mastro. Mixed by Mitch Easter. Recorded in Greensboro, NC
2011: Land Like A Bird, Thirty Tigers. Produced by Neilson Hubbard. Recorded in Nashville, TN
2013: How To Sleep In A Stormy Boat, Thirty Tigers. Produced by Neilson Hubbard. Recorded in Nashville, TN
2015: That Kind Of Girl, WindBone/Tone Tree. Produced by Neilson Hubbard. Recorded in Nashville, TN
2016: Applewood Road (Applewood Road), Gearbox Records. Produced by Speace, Barker, Rubarth. Recorded in Nashville, TN
2019: Me And The Ghost Of Charlemagne, Proper Records Group. Produced by Neilson Hubbard. Recorded in Nashville, TN
2021: There Used To Be Horses Here, Proper Records Group. Produced by Amy Speace & The Orphan Brigade. Recorded in Nashville, TN
2022: Tucson, Proper Records Group. Produced by Neilson Hubbard. Recorded in Nashville, TN
2024: The American Dream, Windbone Records. Produced by Neilson Hubbard. Recorded in Nashville, TN
Appears On…
2016: Applewood Road, Applewood Road, Gearbox Records (UK)
2013: Decembersongs: An East Nashville Holiday Album (w/ Wild Ponies, Rod Picott)
2010: I Should Be Blue, Sid Selvidge, Archer Records. Recorded in Memphis (duet record)
2009: Decembersongs (w/ Jon Vezner, Sally Barris, Dan Navarro)
2008: Born To The Breed: A Tribute to Judy Collins, Wildflower Records (song: “Born To The Breed”)
Songs Recorded By Other Artists
”The Weight of the World” (Speace/Vezner/Caswell) - Judy Collins
”It’s Too Late To Call It A Night” (Speace/Byrd) - Red Molly, Jonathan Byrd
”Make Me Lonely Again” (Speace) - Red Molly
”Two” (Speace) - Sid Selvidge
”Father To The Man” (Speace/Lenker) - Korby Lenker
”The Man I Want To Be” (Speace/Freeman) - Jamie Freeman
”Uncomplicated” (Speace/Glover) - Ben Glover
”War To Believe (All This Time)” (Speace/Glover) - Ben Glover
”Born With A Broken Heart” (Speace/Williams/Williams) - Wild Ponies
”Adagio” (Speace/Prasada-Rao) - Tom Prasada-Rao, Lisa Markley
Videos
"The American Dream" Official Video
"Where Did You Go" Official Video
"There Used To Be Horses Here" Official Video
"Me and the Ghost of Charlemagne" Official Video
Links
Website: amyspeace.com
Facebook: facebook.com/realamyspeacemusic
Twitter: twitter.com/realamyspeace // @realamyspeace
Instagram: instagram.com/amyspeace // @amyspeace
YouTube: youtube.com/amyspeace
Patreon: patreon.com/amyspeace