2019 BMA Winner Vanessa Collier On ‘Honey Up’ Tour; Performs at Big Mama’s Rib Shack

Acclaimed soulful blues singer/saxophonist and 2019 Blues Music Awards “Instrumentalist-Horn” winner Vanessa Colliercontinues her 2019 Spring/Summer ‘Honey Up’ U.S. Tour, supporting her most recent album of the same name, performing locally at Big Mama’s Rib Shack, 1453 N. Lake Ave., Saturday, June 22. Showtime: 8pm. Tickets: $50. (sponsor, front row); $20 (VIP rows 2 and 3); $12 (back booth seating). Info: (626) 797-1792 or visithttp://www.bigmamaspasadena.com.

As proof how far Collier has risen in the eyes of her peers, the young musician recently won “Best Horn – Instrumentalist” at the 2019 (40th Annual) Blues Music Awards, the equivalent of the ‘Blues Grammys,’ this past May. Vanessa is currently nominated in five categories for the 2019 Independent Blues Awards.

If you haven’t been fortunate enough to meet Vanessa Collier and witness one of her head-turning, fiery, and passionate performances, you should definitely make sure you do. As a master musician and multi-instrumentalist, Vanessa weaves funk, soul, rock, and blues into every powerful performance and she is downright impressive. With soulful vocals, searing saxophone, and witty songwriting, Vanessa is blazing a trail, racking up an arsenal of honors, and has already singled herself out as an artist of distinction and one we would all do well to watch.

It’s not simply the accolades she has accumulated so far, although they’ve been many — three Blues Music Award Nominations (BMAs) for Contemporary Blues Female Artist of the Year (2018) and Horn Player of the Year (2018 and 2017), a Blues Blast Award nomination, the Jamming-est Pro Award bestowed by the Legendary Rhythm & Blues Cruise, First Place for lyrics in the International Songwriting Competition, Best of 2014 Blues Breaker on Dan Aykroyd’s BluesMobile — it’s the fact that she has accumulated all these honors even while her career is still in its infancy. A 2013 graduate of the prestigious Berklee College of Music, she’s toured nationally and internationally, and released three critically- acclaimed albums (2014’s Heart, Soul & Saxophone and 2017’s Meeting My Shadow), and 2018’s self-produced third album, Honey Up.

These days, Collier spends much of her time on the road, performing at some of the most prestigious music festivals in the world. Her talents have taken her to the Blues Music Awards Show where, in the words of the Blues Foundation, Vanessa “blew the doors off the Blues Music Awards!”; Ottawa Blues Festival, where she earned two front page newspaper photos and rave reviews after her foot stomping debut there; twice on the Legendary Rhythm and Blues Cruise, where she earned the Jamming-est Pro Award and was a featured artist with Tommy Castro’s Blues Review; Briggs Farm Festival, where she was the “most popular Briggs Farm act in 2017” (Elmore Magazine), and the list continues. In 2017, Vanessa was also a featured artist in three major tours across Europe as part of Ruf’s 2017 Blues Caravan.

Collier says she’s happy performing on stages across the world, hoping that she can make a difference with fans and followers along the way. “I am driven to do this because I find it a total form of expression and connection,” she explains. “I love connecting with an audience and feeling their energy and I hope to inspire people to follow their dreams and passions, to find what brings them joy, and then to pursue it doggedly.”

Performing Locally: THJE RHYTHM ROOM – Friday, June 21 – 8pm

“If you haven’t yet hooked onto the Vanessa Collier bandwagon, do so now because this young woman’s a rising star. Ms. Collier is a true triple threat — an accomplished sax player, a very fine soulful singer with some roots in gospel, and a prolific songwriter. If that’s not enough, she also plays a little guitar.” BLUES BYTES

“Honey Up shows off Collier’s ability to mix heavy blues guitar riffs with vibrant horn arrangements. With its exuberant vocals, “Sweatin’ Like a Pig, Singin’ Like an Angel” encapsulates the album’s spirit and suggests just how much her live show will be.”

CLEVELAND SCENE

“In a performance worthy of any venue in Canada, the Vanessa Collier band performed at Holy Rosary Hall last night to an enthralled audience. No less than three standing ovations greeted the artist making her second appearance in Thorold.”

THORHOLD NEWS

“I’ve been in this business over twenty years, and there are not a whole lot of women like Vanessa…she can play, she can write, and she can sing. She is also one of the sweetest, nicest people you’ll meet.”

SHEMIKA COPELAND

Vanessa Collier ‘Honey Up’ Summer 2019 U.S. Tour Itinerary