Willie Mae profile picture

Willie Mae

About Me

Check out our article in the Times Unionhttp://www.jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/092607/ne s_202531832.shtml ............................................................ ............................................................ ............................................................ ............................................Tamara Grigsby and Andy Burke are writers and musicians whose diverse roots and blues music pulls listeners onto the front porch for songs of human frailities and emotions.................................................... ............................................................ ............................................................ .....................................................

My Interests

Music:

Member Since: 06/05/2007
Band Members: Andy Burke joined his first band, a Beatles influenced group with a one song repertoire (Twist and Shout) at age 12. Since that time, he has played guitar and Hammond B-3 in rock and blues based groups until discovering the timeless beauty in fingerpicking and old metal guitars. Andy is the author of the 2007 released book, West of Indigo Blues. ............................................................ .................................................... Tamara Grigsby is a singer/songwriter who joined her first band at 16 and has been performing roots music since. Her emotion packed voice reflects the deep inate understanding of the music she sings....................................................... ..........................................................Wi llie Mae is fortunate to have several wonderful friends jump on board from time to time: Phil “Hump” Hamiliton, Terry Whitehead, "That Damn" Beau Halton, Mike Shackelford and Roy Peak. It is always a pleasure for Willie Mae and the audience to have these talented musicians join us on stage. Check out Terry's CD, Perfect Wave, at terrywhiteheadmusic.com. Roy Peak produced and played bass on Terry's CD at his studio, Radical Recording in Jacksonville, Florida. Tamara and Andy appear on Terry's CD. Roy also recorded and help produce Willie Mae's "Bound To Roam" CD. Mike Shackelford is a longtime singer/songwriter and a great friend to Willie Mae. His song, "Roll On", is one of the top 100 rock songs of all time.
Influences: Mississippi John Hurt, Robert Johnson, Eudora Welty, Flannery O'Connor, Cormac McCarthy, Reverend Gary Davis, Lucinda Williams, Gillian Welch, Duane Allman, William Faulkner
Sounds Like: Willie Mae's music can best be described as eclectic, Southern roots music. The base emotion found in all great blues, alt-country and Americana music strongly permeates every song Willie Mae writes and performs.
Record Label: Unsigned
Type of Label: Indie

My Blog

Muscle Shoals and Mississippi

"If you sit around and wait for something to happen that is exactly what you will continue to do." King BeeTamara and I loaded up the car with guitars and headed to the Birmingham, Alabama airport to ...
Posted by on Tue, 26 May 2009 08:59:00 GMT

Bound to Roam CD Review

From the Bozeman (Montana) Blues Review (Sept. 08): "Get ready to open a great book: a non-fiction novel about the early 20th century life in the American Deep South. This newly released CD by a group...
Posted by on Thu, 16 Oct 2008 11:11:00 GMT

July 08

So what is a music festival without rain?The Mississippi John Hurt Blues festival this year (5 July) endured off and on rain. The music was moved from the stage to Mississippi John's front porch where...
Posted by on Fri, 01 Aug 2008 18:01:00 GMT

July ’08

Willie Mae starts off July with a bang by helping Terry Whitehead out at his Courtyard gig before heading back to Mississippi and performing at the Mississippi John Hurt Festival on July 5th in Avalon...
Posted by on Tue, 01 Jul 2008 04:15:00 GMT

Live CD recording and a little more

Willie Mae was honored to participate in The Village Idiots Productions's live CD recording event at the Adele Grage Cultural Center Theater in Atlantic Beach, Florida. Willie Mae performed the origin...
Posted by on Sun, 13 Apr 2008 08:10:00 GMT

Feb Mississippi trip

Willie Mae was honored to be invited by Mary Hurt-Wright, grandaughter of John Hurt, to the 23 February 2008 unvieling of the Mississippi John Hurt Highway Marker near Carrollton, Mississippi. The wea...
Posted by on Mon, 25 Feb 2008 06:26:00 GMT

recording update

Willie Mae has been hard at work in the recording studio. Backing vocals for Delta Storm and No More were added last week by good friends, Terry, Robin and Linda. Dr. Jim wailed on the B3 for the same...
Posted by on Tue, 15 Jan 2008 05:29:00 GMT

Blown away by Rory Block

I went to see Rory at the Frisky Mermaid in Fernandina Thursday night.  The Frisky Mermaid provides a wonderfully intimate setting to see artists, and I couldn't believe that I was able to be sit...
Posted by on Sat, 08 Dec 2007 05:15:00 GMT

Blues Tour

Andy & I will be on the road for the next 10 days.  Our first stop is Nashville, and then we are on to Memphis and Clarksdale for a blues tour.  We are planning to play and see...
Posted by on Fri, 06 Jul 2007 05:52:00 GMT