Jamie Anderson, Singer-songwriter / teacher / writer / gets bored easily

Photo by Janice Rickert

"... soothing, heavenly soprano voice." -- Dave Richards, Erie Times-News

"As a writer, Jamie takes the archetypical forms of folk music and story telling and turns them on their heads! A fresh (in every sense) and original artist." -- Catie Curtis

Touring since the eighties, singer-songwriter-parking lot attendant Jamie Anderson has played her warm and witty songs in hundreds of coffeehouses, concert halls, colleges and festivals in four countries and forty seven states. She has ten recordings including her newest, Better Than Chocolate. Her music has been featured on Good Morning America, the Dr. Demento radio show, NPR's Car Talk, and stations all over the world. Jamie loves being a musician, so she doesn't really park cars, but her mama said she should have something to fall back on. Press kit

Photo by Leigh Peterson

Jamie's a confused folk singer who doesn't settle in just one genre. She's country without the big hair, bluegrass without the whiney tenor, blues without selling her soul and rock without the dirty t-shirt. She'll show you why it's never a good idea to dump a songwriter in "Her Problem Now" and who her greatest musical inspiration is in "My Dad Loves to Sing". "Beautiful" is a tender ballad about body image, "Three Bridges" is a thoughtful tune about finding strength while "Grace" is a story about two girls falling in love at church camp. Hallelujah.

Her five song EP Better Than Chocolate includes a collection of songs from the jazz flavored "January" to a re-released acoustic version of "Her Problem Now." Musicians include Free Planet Radio (Chris Rosser, River Guerguerian and Eloit Wapodian), a band whose collective credits include the Paul Winter Consort and gigs at Carnegie Hall and the Sydney Opera House. Also featured is Kara Barnard on mandolin, Hollis Brown on violin, Kimberly Kornegay on vocals and Lou Newman on bass.

Jamie's dad was a country musician - a pretty painful thing for a teenager who would rather listen to Carole King and Carly Simon - but it did mean there were always guitars lying around the house. In high school she memorized every chord in a Mel Bay songbook and for the next few years played local coffeehouses, bars and at weddings. After the hundredth request for "Wedding Song," she decided to write her own songs. Jamie did her first national tour in 1987 because she needed to earn gas money to get to a music festival. She's been collecting tiny motel soaps ever since.

When Jamie isn't touring, she's taught songwriting, guitar and other classes at Duke University, arts centers, privately and at festivals all over the country. She has a chapter in Songwriting and the Guitar, a book that also includes Paul Simon, The Indigo Girls, Joni Mitchell and others. Jamie is a freelance writer whose articles and CD reviews have appeared in Acoustic Guitar, Curve, SingOut! and more.

Laughter is a big part of Jamie's live performance. Her offbeat song intros and stories help keep the performance fun but don't be surprised when she delves into more serious issues. She's emceed at many events and twirls the baton badly, sometimes at the same time. She's also a bellydancer and former radio DJ, never at the same time.

Anderson's awards include Finalist (USA Songwriting Competition, "Your Mama Scares Me," 2008), the Jane Schliessman Award for Outstanding Contributions to Women's Music (Women in the Arts, 2006), Best Folk Album (The Independent, A Promise of Light, 2005), Honorable Mention (Great American Song Contest, "Beautiful," 2005), and others that only her mama cares about.

Jamie's expressive voice and personable stage manner are an asset to any stage. She loves to perform but you really don't want to hand her keys to your Volvo unless payment includes chocolate.

Selected Credits

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Writer

Gets Bored Easily