Michelle Avery

Michelle Avery MICHELLE AVERY BIO Most young artists struggle to toe the line between playing exactly what they like and what they think record labels want to hear. Michelle Avery's fresh approach to songwriting breathes new life into individual expression in an industry that makes no apology for the overdone.
“I desire to write and sing what I what I would like to hear, what I need to hear,” explains the Nashville-based singer/songwriter. “It’s not a formula, but words simple and true.”
The result? A definite maturation of the fresh-faced folk/rock artist since releasing her acclaimed first EP produced by Nashville singer/songwriter Matthew Perryman Jones, The Waiting, in 2004. It also, however, symbolizes a return home. Though she’s long admired Tori Amos, Jonatha Brooke and other definitive female voices, Avery’s now most inspired by her close circle of songwriting friends in Nashville. Together, a group of honest, talented people strives to make homegrown music that speaks truth to them as individuals—music that preserves their artistic integrity.
“I think writing reflects the person, or it should,” Avery says. “If art is supposed to be a mirror of the soul, art should become wiser, shrewder over time. We don’t necessarily get to the bottom line, but we get to a place where we can speak with a perspective that we couldn’t before.”
This aptly describes another year spent growing up and creating lyrical truth in a musical community—a season that has broadened Avery’s artistic repertoire. She’s participated in regular co-writing sessions with notable artists and producers, and collaborated on projects such as Life is Precious: A Wes King Tribute—writing and recording original material. She also recorded background vocals for Caedmon’s Call’s latest release, In the Company of Angels, meanwhile performing in VeggieTales Live, which toured the United States and Canada- a gig she’ll continue into next year.
From this valuable journey, Avery hopes to culminate her experience in songs she’s writing for a full-length album slated for next year. Older and wiser than when she crafted the melodic Waiting, Avery now takes the gravitas of her subjects and her keen ear for joy and suffering to produce lyrics even more attune to God and life.
Avery says themes on the new album will run the gamut: God, truth, the gritty process of working out faith, the many facets of belief. Sitting down with the piano or guitar that are “always listening, inviting me to say what’s really going on,” she spends her days writing as an ordinary human trying to work out life and articulate it in music that creates solidarity, encouragement and healing in others.
It’s hard to believe Avery is the same girl who used to wonder if she could ever follow a dream birthed in elementary school. But even in her early years she was leading music and writing songs on her dad’s old 12-string guitar. She later transferred to a college in Nashville and ever since, she’s been in the process of learning what it means to perform and to write—giving, serving, listening, letting herself be a vessel for truth.
By Andrea Bailey, Outreach Magazine
MICHELLE AVERY PRESS
“Michelle Avery has organic, earthy music with the power of Pop but the dignity of Roots/Americana. Soaring, wisdom soaked vocals hit the heart-hard. Her voice is so emotive, and she writes vividly and naturally giving her lyrics an alluring quality. My only complaint is that there are only five songs on her EP!!! I look forward to a full length album!”
-Taxi, “The World’s Leading Independent A&R Company”
"Michelle Avery is a great writer and, has a wonderful voice. I've enjoyed working with her on occasion and look forward to working with her more."
-Mitch Dane, Producer/Writer/Artist
“Michelle Avery’s lyrics and her emotive voice intertwine to create an aural experience which is unmistakably raw, yet healing.”
-Andrea Bailey, CCM Magazine
“The best way to describe Michelle Avery's music is to say that it is honest, and that to me, is one of the highest compliments I can pay. Her writing, as well as her performance, is a great snapshot at who she is, what life looks like through her eyes, and who she is as an artist. I think this project is a great step in a great direction for her, and I look forward to seeing where she goes from here.”
-Andrew Osenga, The Normals/ Caedmon’s Call
"If music is about heart, then Michelle Avery gets it. Michelle is one of those rare artists who are writing honest, thoughtful, well-crafted songs that connect with people. It does no service to a world growing in it's awareness of need and imperfection to write songs that gloss over reality. Michelle is a writer with guts who is not afraid to put her heart on her sleeve to tell people they are not alone in their pain-a voice that needs to be heard!"
-Matthew Perryman Jones, Singer/Songwriter/Producer
MightyNice Booking Agency [email protected] ..