A WARRIOR PRINCESS OF THE ROAD
SPORTING a slam-bang rock ‘n’ roll band and a hard-core honky-tonk wail, Stacie Collins will be pushing the boundaries of rock, blues and country when she plays in Llandudno Junction later this month.
A singer-songwriter and a fantastic harmonica player in the style of Chicago Blues greats Little Walter and James Cotton, Collins has garnered a reputation for her high energy shows and diverse song writing, and they’re not all about love and heartbreak.
On Saturday, October 17, Stacie and her band The AL-Mighty 3, bring their High Roller tour to the Llandudno Junction Labour Club in Conway Road.
The tour coincides with the release of her new album ‘Roll The Dice’ which is out on Friday, October 9, and features 10 brand new songs.
Based in Nashville, Tennessee, Stacie is a road warrior having performed countless shows in the USA and Europe over the past few years and has even spawned a Japanese “Stacie Collins” tribute band.
In addition to touring, Collins, along with her writing partner, husband and band mate Al Collins ( Jason & The Scorchers) have written, recorded and released five records on her own label.
This fifth album ‘Roll The Dice’ is the best-yet showcase for her exuberant, harmonica-drenched, cocktail of rock, blues, and Americana.
For this one, Collins brought in her bass-playing husband, guitar slingers Baird and Audley Freed (The Black Crowes, Dixie Chicks, Jakob Dylan), drummer, Brad Pemberton (Ryan Adams, Patty Griffin, Willie Nelson), and other master musicians.
“With players like that, the energy comes from the music, and it becomes all about heart,” she says.
“You leave your brain somewhere else. I don’t know how to classify this stuff, but people say it’s unique and familiar at the same time.”
Had her records been released twenty or thirty years ago, they would have sounded as natural on ’70s FM radio alongside ZZ Top and The Rolling Stones as they do next to contemporary rockers like the Drive-By Truckers or Blackberry Smoke, and listening to her , you wouldn’t realise she comes by it unexpectedly.
At age 30, she picked up a harmonica, started listening to Sonny Boy Williamson, and began blending Bakersfield-bred bluster with distorted Chicago blues.
What emerged was transformative for Collins, and highly entertaining for audiences. Beat-up cowboy hat, blues harp, rock attitude… unique and familiar, at the same time.
To get a taste of Stacie’s latest album, you can see her new video ‘Lost & Found’ on her website at staciecollins.com from October 9.
Support on the night is provided by the popular band from Anglesey, Bad Dog who headlined on the Saturday night at this year’s Copperfest.