Amy just released her first fully produced music video for her song Weight of the World. The video features soldiers from Airforce and Army units of the New York National Guard from Beacon NY area bases. This version of the song will be included on the upcoming Wildflower Records compilation "Got To Get A Message To You," to be released Jan 13 2009. Read more on this compilation HERE. An acoustic version will be included on Amy's new CD "The Killer in Me", to be released on the same date.
NEW ALBUM "KILLER IN ME" SELECTED AS FINALIST AT THE INDEPENDENT MUSIC AWARDS
Amy's new album "Killer in Me" (release date January 13, 2009) is already winning over the critics. The album, featuring guest appearances by Rock legend Ian Hunter, was just selected as a finalist in the Folk/Singer Songwriter Category for the 2008 Independent Music Awards. For a sneak peak of some of the tracks on the new album, check out Amy's myspace page
AMY JOINS JUDY COLLINS, JIMMY WEBB, MARY GAUTHIER, SHAWN COLVIN, ERIC ANDERSEN AND OTHERS AT JOE'S PUB 10th ANNIVERSARY GALA OCTOBER 10
BORN TO THE BREED: A TRIBUTE TO JUDY COLLINS: 10.14.08
Look for this newest release in October. The disc features Amy alongside the likes of legends Dolly Parton, Rufus Wainwright, Shawn Colvin, Chrissie Hynde, James Murdriczki, Jim Lauderdale, Leonard Cohen, Dar Williams, Bernadette Peters, Ali Eskandarian, Joan Baez, Kenny White, Jimmy Webb, and The Webb Sisters.
MOUNTAIN STAGE FEATURES AMY AS NORTHEAST NEWSONG FINALIST
Amy has been designated a MountainStage NewSong NorthEast Regional Finalist, and will be performing at Joe's Pub on Sunday August 17th.
AMERICAN AIRLINES FEATURES "THE KILLER IN ME"
Throughout September, American Airlines will feature "The Killer In Me," the title track from my upcoming Wildflower Records January 13, 2009 release, in its Paste Beat Channel (sponsored by Paste Magazine) for American Airlines' inflight entertainment radio! The song was co-written with Erik Balkey and features harmony vocals by Ian Hunter.
Amy recently performed at the Falcon Ridge Folk Festival as part of the
Emerging Artist Showcase, along with fellow emergers Robbie Hecht, Danny Schmidt, Carrie Elkin, Lucy Wainwright Roche, Anne Heaton, RJ Cowdrey,
Gretchen Witt and many others!
"WEIGHT OF THE WORLD" HAS PLACED IN THE TOP 10 OF THE "MUSIC TO LIFE SHOWCASE" AND WILL BE FEATURED ON XM RADIO AND AT KERRVILLE
The Public Domain Foundation in conjunction with the Kerrville Folk Festival, has sponsored the Music To Life Contest as a way to prompt artists to write songs of social and political significance which are competitively selected by a panel of artists including Tom Chapin, Janis Ian, Tom Paxton, Holly Near, Christine Lavin, Peter Yarrow, Noel Paul Stookey and others. The Top 10 finalists will perform their songs at the Kerrville Folk Festival in Texas, and the Public Domain Foundation will donate the Winner's earnings to a charity of their choice. The Music To Life Top 40 (which also includes Amy's song "After The Flood") is playing on XM Radio on Tuesday, May 20th at noon and Saturday, May 24th at midnight (that's actually in the middle of FRIDAY night). For further information, visit the MUSIC TO LIFE MYSPACE PAGE
POLLSTAR MENTIONS AMY'S APPEARANCE ON UPCOMING JUDY COLLINS TRIBUTE CD
Judy Collins admitted when she got a good look at the people who signed on to pay tribute to her [on the album "Born To The Breed," due out this summer,] she was more than a little flattered: "The list of performers - I'm just kind of blown away by it." To read the full article click here
AMY'S UK RADIO TOUR PUSHES HER TO #64 ON AMAZON.COM UK COUNTRY CHART
Amy's tour through England, where's she's opened for Ian Hunter and visited numerous radio stations across the country, has generated excitment with her British fans. Amy is joining such artists as The Eagles, Johnny Cash and the Drive By Truckers on Amazon.com's UK Country Chart at #64.
We're pleased to announce that Amy will be working with The Americana Agency as her U.S. booking agency. The Americana Agency is home to our friends Jonathan Byrd, Corinne West and other wonderful artists. To learn more about them click here
AMY TOPS 2007 AIRPLAY LIST FOR RADIO CRYSTAL BLUE
Radio Crystal Blue, a long running internet radio program, names "Songs For Bright Street" as #1, having received
the most airplay out of the top 100 independent-label/unsigned acts of 2007.
AMY BACK ON ART OF THE SONG
In the week of Nov 26 - Dec 2, Art of the Song will re-broadcast the show on which Amy was featured earlier this summer on all 118 radio stations nationwide that syndicate this program. To check your local listings for exact times and stations click here. You can also follow the show over the internet by streaming audio from WUMB at 5am and 7pm EST on Nov 27.
AMY TO GO ON TOUR WITH IAN HUNTER
As we hinted earlier, there's more good news for Amy fans in the UK: Amy will join Ian Hunter on a 10 day tour through England and Scottland (hopefully this time sans fisticuffs) as their opening act. Click on "TOUR" above to get the full schedule. More on Ian Hunter can be found here.
AMY'S "WATER LANDING" ON BBC'2 ON NOV 10
Even though veteran BBC 2 DJ Bob Harris himself is not currently on air, his music show can still be heard all across the UK on Saturdays between 11pm and 2am GMT (6 - 9pm EST). On November 10, the show will feature Amy's song "Water Landing" from Songs for Bright Street. The show can be heard world wide over the web. Click here to tune in.
UK HEARTS AMY
Amy's "Songs for Bright Street" was just released in the UK and is receiving rave reviews. Here are a few excerpts:
"[Songs for Bright Street] is a superior example of stunning music at its best ... guaranteed to make waves this side of the Atlantic. ... a unique country-folk sound that can be best described as an Americana Dido... both illuminating and effortly accessible." The Verve
"... a baker's dozen of heartfelt, soul stirring, uplifting and crashing down again songs ... Ms. Speace knows how to rip your heart out and shred it to pieces." - Zeitgeist-scot.co.uk
"If you're a fan of Lucinda Williams / Caitlin Cary / Roseanne Cash then give this girl a whirl and wonder why you haven't heard of her before... [Songs for Bright Street]'s got the lot - lots of sad country twang, a dollop of folk and just a smidge of pop... In short, it's full of melodic treats that will make your heart ache." - Lonesome Music
"Speace combines country and folk to great effect and her lovely vocal inflections invite favourable comparison with her compatriate & contemporary Dar Williams. A fine album ..." - Classic Rock Society
"Songs For Bright Street' by Amy Speace & The Tearjerks is a piece of nu-country magic - superbly crafted, rammed with lyrical reality, overflowin' with instrumental brilliance. Oh, and then there's those Amy Speace vocals - simply stunning!! Country music at its grittiest, most tangible and outrageous best!" - Toxic Pete
"This cool little lady ... has one of those spellbinding voices that just draws you in ... soft and seductive, yet witty and street smart, and a little dangerous ... Her voice is to die for but the Americana foly, twangy country arrangements ... and the confrontational songwriting come up to the same level. This album is like the summer we never had ... she gets two fullhearted thumbs up. Hell, I'll give her a few digits extra. She's that good." - Irish World
Amy has just been selected as a formal showcase artist for NERFA this November. Catch her solo and with the boys in the Starlight Auditorium at Kutschers in Monticello on Friday November 9th. The list of formal showcase artists includes other wonderful artists such as Michael Bowers & Siobhan Quinn, Ronny Cox, Ellis, Greg Greenway, Hot Soup, The Refugees, Dave Rowe Trio and Ken Whiteley
AMY ON TOUR IN EUROPE FALL 2007 AND ONWARDS
We can't tell you all the good news yet, but Amy will be heading to Europe several times in the next few months to perform and do radio interviews. In late October / early November she will join Fish (former leadsinger of Marillion) for a show in Luxemburg and then go on to tour with Ezio through the UK, including King Tut's in Glasgow, the club where Oasis was discovered and signed to their first record deal. Late in November, Amy will head with the boys to Austria and Germany. See tour page for full schedule. There will be more dates throughout the UK early next year.
AMY FINALIST AGAIN AT ROCKY MOUNTAIN FOLKS FESTIVAL SONGWRITER SHOWCASE
For the second time in a row (last year she placed fourth), Amy has gotten herself into the Top 10 of the Rocky Mountain Folks Festival Songwriter Showcase. Click HERE to read more on the contest.
SONGS FOR BRIGHT STREET RECEIVES EUROPE-WIDE RELEASE THIS SUMMER / FALL
Amy's current CD, "Songs For Bright Street" is being officially released all over Europe this summer. The exact release dates are:
- June 29 for Germany and Austria, distributed by O-tone / Edel
- October 29 for all other European markets, distributed by ADA/Ryko
Her single "Step Out Of The Shade" is currently receiving very good airplay across Germany, with some stations spinning the song up to 25 times a week. Stay tuned to Amy's touring website and mailing list for concert dates in Europe later this fall.
"TWO" featuring Gary Louris wins award at International Acoustic Music Awards (IAMA) in their open category
The North American Folk Alliance just announced its nominees for the 2007 Folk Alliance Awards and Amy is on the list for Emerging Artist of the Year. If you are a member of the Folk Alliance, make sure you return your voting ballot.
SONGS FOR BRIGHT STREET A TOP 25 INDIE RELEASE AT INDIE-MUSIC.COM
The folks at Indie-Music.com assemble a list of their favourite indie releases every year. For 2006, Amy's Songs For Bright Street is among the chosen ones. Here's what they had to say:
" If Shakespeare wrote country music and drank beer, he'd be Amy Speace. And boy, would things be different. Ophelia would have kicked Hamlet to the curb the minute he started acting strange and cranked up the run-down jeep for a week in North Carolina with her old college friends. Speace is a sweet, spunky, highly literate twangirl tomboy. She writes and sings with spirit and a sense of fun. She can croon desert moon lovelorn ballads until your heart breaks. She can be uplifting and joyously optimistic. She can smolder and purr and fog up your contact lenses." (by Jennifer Layton).
Read more of this review here
The top 25 can be found here
HEADED FOR THE VIRGINIA CENTER FOR THE CREATIVE ARTS
Amy has been accepted as a Fellow at the prestigious Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, a residential artist’s community. She'll be spending some time there in May 2007 with fellow songwriters Steve Seskin, Jon Vezner and Paul Reisler. This is a high honor, as recent Fellows include Pulitzer Prize winners, Guggenheim Fellows, and recipients of National Endowment for the Arts Fellowships as well as luminaries such as Cy Twombly, David Del Tredici, and Naomi Wolf.
Amy's anthem to female self-confidence has been nominated as best country song for the 2007 Independent Music Awards. You can help make this song a winner by voting HERE.
WIVK (Knoxville, TN) "Americana Highway with Jack Ryan" announced the winners in the 2006 Americana Highway HEMI Awards during a special broadcast on Sunday, September 24th. "Step Out of the Shade" was named Favorite Song by listeners!!! Thanks to all who voted and tuned in and thanks to WIVK for supporting us!
"DOUBLE WIDE TRAILER" on NPR's CAR TALK
Yep. That was "Double Wide Trailer" you heard today (Sept. 16th) on NPR's show "Car Talk." :) DWT is on "Songs For Bright Street"
BRIGHT STREET HITS XM
Tune into XM Radio Channel 12 (X Country) and hear tracks from the album!
SWERFA
Amy and the boys are headed to Austin at the end of September for their official showcase at the South West Regional Folk Alliance. (www.swrfa.com)
ROCKY MOUNTAIN NEWS
After singing "Make Me Lonely Again" and "The Real Thing" on a beautiful sunny morning on Friday, I took home a 4th place win (out of 10 finalists who were chosen from over 900 entries) at The Rocky Mountain Folks Festival New Song Contest.
TOP 10 in JUNE for FOLK RADIO
"Bright Street" was one of the Top Ten albums spun by Folk Radio DJ's in June 2006.
WIVK HEMI AWARDSAugust 6th, 2006
Thanks to WIVK, FM, 107.7 Knoxville, TN and the program "Americana Highway" for nominating me in their HEMI Awards (kinda their version of the Grammy's) for "Favorite Future Female Artist," "Best Cover Song" (For Dreaming), and Favorite Song for "Step Out of the Shade". You can vote by visiting www.americanahighway.com.
KERRVILLE BOUND
Amy has been named a finalist in the 2006 Kerrville Folk Festival Grassy Hill New Song Concerts. 32 Finalists out of 800 applications.
BACK HOME COMPILATION
"Back Home" is out and Home from "Bright Street" is on it. This is a double CD of 34 women singer-songwriters on the theme of Home, produced by Raymond Steiner. All sales benefit Children's International. Buy your copy at www.homecd.net and www.children.org
ISC COMPETITION
Double Wide Trailer (co-written with Jenny Bruce and Jagoda) was named a semi-finalist in the International Songwriting Competition, out of 25,000 entries.
We're pleased to announce that Amy will be working with The Americana Agency as her U.S. booking agency. The Americana Agency is home to our friends Jonathan Byrd, Corinne West and other wonderful artists. To learn more about them click 
The folks at Indie-Music.com assemble a list of their favourite indie releases every year. For 2006, Amy's Songs For Bright Street is among the chosen ones. Here's what they had to say:
" If Shakespeare wrote country music and drank beer, he'd be Amy Speace. And boy, would things be different. Ophelia would have kicked Hamlet to the curb the minute he started acting strange and cranked up the run-down jeep for a week in North Carolina with her old college friends. Speace is a sweet, spunky, highly literate twangirl tomboy. She writes and sings with spirit and a sense of fun. She can croon desert moon lovelorn ballads until your heart breaks. She can be uplifting and joyously optimistic. She can smolder and purr and fog up your contact lenses." (by Jennifer Layton).
Amy has been accepted as a Fellow at the prestigious Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, a residential artist’s community. She'll be spending some time there in May 2007 with fellow songwriters Steve Seskin, Jon Vezner and Paul Reisler. This is a high honor, as recent Fellows include Pulitzer Prize winners, Guggenheim Fellows, and recipients of National Endowment for the Arts Fellowships as well as luminaries such as Cy Twombly, David Del Tredici, and Naomi Wolf. 
