Music
Press
NASHVILLE LIFESTYLES MUSIC ISSUE DECEMBER/JANUARY 2006
"Amy Loftus, for example, has a stripped down linear sound
(courtesy of hot property producer/guitarist Will Kimbrough)
that fits into the Americana category, though Loftus's
radio-friendly voice draws comparisons to pop stars like Sheryl Crow and Aimee Mann. Her debut, Straight to Amy, is actually closer
in spirit to the work of respected singer-songwriters like Shawn Colvin
and Kim Richey." - Nashville Lifestyles
BEST NEW SINGER-SONGWRITER: AMY LOFTUS Most newcomers bearing acoustic guitars take aim at Music Row formulas or get lost trying to find a distinctive voice. Loftus is that rare find who sounds fully developed on first blush, offering tender songs that barely hide her anger and angry songs cut with tender empathy. She’s strong on melody, which is good, because her soprano has an airiness that she anchors by knowing just when to bear down and when to whisper. Her Will Kimbrough-produced debut, Straight to Amy, includes a heavenly reworking of The Clash’s “Straight to Hell.” —MICHAEL McCALL
- Nashville Scene
"Credit Will Kimbrough with the alluring countenance of Amy Loftus' 2005 debut "Straight to Amy". The whipsmart Nashville producer plays to the talents of the former painter and actress, letting her songs take center stage and framing them with warm acoustics, so as not to sound overbearingly analytical, unbearably country crunk. Her songs are plaintive ballads with an acumen and attitude, and she's one of the leading female lights to emerge from Nashville in awhile."
-Grayson Currin - Raleigh Independent
"Amy Loftus impresses" - Los Angeles Times
"The CD Straight to Amy introduces us to the talents of new Nashvillian Loftus. Her light folky, conversational soprano and sturdy songs are imaginatively framed by Kimbrough’s hypnotic productions. In a word, promising."
-Richard Oehrmann
- Music Row Magazine
"Sure to be one of the genre's up and coming stars"
-Todd Smith - Sharkbitten Music Mag
3rd place Folk Category for the song "Work To Do" - Int'l Songwriting Competition
Finalist in the 2007
CMT/NSAI contest
1st runner up among 10,000 entries - CMT
Discography
"Straight to Amy"
"Better"
"Fireworks"
Indie artist chosen for the segment "One to Watch" on the syndicated radio show Acoustic Cafe
Americana radio play in midwest, southeast, northeast, and on the BBC
Photos
Bio
Amy Loftus is not a live act to be missed. One Greenwich Village Press reviewer wrote: "It's a rare thing in LA to have a bar full of people shut up and listen. A voice as hauntingly soul-stirring as Alison Krauss". Not only that, but people tend to fall in love with Amy. She’s beautiful, and that certainly helps in this business, but it’s Amy’s gift for melody that really gets under your skin. Songs like "Cavalier", which was a finalist in the 7th annual CMT/NSAI Song Contest, instantly hook into your brain, leaving you wanting more. Raised in Chicago and trained as an actress and a dancer, she did her time in L.A., chasing the Hollywood dream. (Second City, The Tracey Ullman Show, Days of Our Lives) But the songs she was writing took over and eventually Amy moved to Nashville in 2002 and began teaching herself how to play guitar. "I felt like songwriting had chosen me, and I loved it here because of the sense of reverence for the song and songwriter".
In 2003, she began playing solo shows and working on demos with Will Kimbrough that led to her first independent album, "Straight to Amy", released in 2005. Shortly after that, Amy was named "Best New Singer/Songwriter" by the Nashville Scene. The song "Work to Do" placed third in the International Songwriting Competition, (hailed by the New York Times as “the songwriting contest to take note of”).
"Better", a full length album recorded live to two track analog with engineer/producer Lij, followed in 2007. Amy spent the winter and spring of 2008 touring in support her January release FIREWORKS. When she is not on the road, she is writing for Appletree Publishing in Nashville.
Links
