“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

“There’s a young lady [Vanessa Collier] came onstage with me, I forget where I was, but she’s playing an alto saxophone, and man, she was amazing.” – Buddy Guy

(Jim Thorpe, PA) – Acclaimed soulful blues singer/saxophonist Vanessa Collier embarks on her Winter 2019 ‘Honey Up’ U.S. Tour, in support of her recent album of the same name, with a local performance at Mauck Chunk Opera House, 14 W. Broadway, Friday, January 11. Showtime: 8pm. Tickets: $25 (VIP), $15 (General Admission). Info: (570) 325-0249 or visit www.mauchchunkoperahouse.com.

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, released two critically acclaimed albums (2014’s Heart, Soul & Saxophone and 2017’s Meeting My Shadow), and will release her highly anticipated self-produced third album, Honey Up, in July 2018.

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.”

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

Jan. 11 (Fri.)       MAUCH CHUNK OPERA HOUSE          Jim Thorpe, PA

Jan. 12 (Sat.)       MOONDOGS                                      Blawnox, PA

Jan. 13 (Sun.)      BUFFALO IRON WORKS                       Buffalo, NY

Jan. 17 (Thur.)     STANHOPE HOUSE                             Stanhope, NJ

Jan. 18 (Fri.)        THE TURNING POINT                         Piermont, NY

Jan. 25 (Fri.)        BULL RUN                                          Shirley, MA

Jan. 26 (Sat.)       BLACK EYED SALLYS                          Hartford, CT

Feb. 1 (Fri.)         COCONUT CREEK CASINO                  Coconut Creek, FL

Feb. 2 (Sat.)        SHARK BAR                                        Ft. Myers, FL

Feb. 3-10           LEGENDARY RHYTHM/BLUES CRUISE      Eastern Carribean

Feb. 15 (Fri.)       SELLERSVILLE THEATRE                      Sellersville, PA

Feb. 21 (Thur.)   NATALIE’S                                          Columbus, OH

Feb. 22 (Fri.)       VEGGIE BUDDIES                                South Bend, IN

Feb. 23 (Sat.)      THE BIG GIG                                       Monroe, MI

Feb. 24 (Sun.)     CANAL BANK SHUFFLE SERIES             Ontario, CAN

Mar. 2 (Sat.)       8X10 CLUB                                         Baltimore, MD

Mar.16 (Sat.)      THE SOUNDRY                                    Columbia, MD

Apr. 4 (Thu.)      THE ALE & WITCH                               St. Petersburg, FL

Apr. 6 (Sat.)       SPRINGING THE BLUES                         Jacksonville, FL

Apr. 11 (Thur.)  BLUES FESTIVAL BASEL                         Basel, Switzerland

Apr. 13 (Sat.)     TAMPA BAY BLUES FESTIVAL                Tampa Bay, FL

Apr. 19 (Fri.)      CURACAO BLUESEAS FESTIVAL             Curacao

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