JoAnne Redding
Gig Seeker Pro

JoAnne Redding

Band Blues Country

Calendar

This band has not uploaded any videos
This band has not uploaded any videos

Music

Press


"The Berkshire Eagle"

With a measure of national clout, songwriter JoAnne Redding and her band will perform at the Mahaiwe Theater on October 2nd. A regular at The Guthrie Center here in Great Barrington, Redding has shared the bill with country stars Hank Williams Jr., Neal McCoy, Asleep at the Wheel, John Berry, and The Mavericks. She appeared at the Falcon Ridge Folk Festival, selected from more than 400 applicants. And the title cut from her album The Running Kind was featured on the daytime drama All My Children. The Berkshire Eagle's former pop music critic, Seth Rogovoy, dubbed her the "Lyle Lovett of the Berkshires." Redding, of course, is a local hero. — Allison Tracy - The Berkshire Eagle


"The Advocate"

With a voice that is at times soft and sultry but is equally comfortable belting out a tune, Redding moves from folk to country to blues and back again with aplomb. — Dale Ott - The Advocate


"Berkshires Week"

After four years, JoAnne Redding is back with a new recording. The album features more folk-oriented, singer-songwriter fare from Redding than in the past, such as "Love and a Song," about an overlooked older musician who once tasted a bit of glory. There are still hints of Redding's country background, such as the mandolin on "Chameleon," but the arrangements evoke a more mainstream sound and Redding strikes a more conventional vocal tone, as much rock and folk as country and blues, so that she would appeal equally to fans of Shania Twain, Melissa Etheridge, Shawn Colvin, Bonnie Raitt, and Patti Scialfa. This homegrown effort features terrific instrumental support by an all-star cast of the best of the Berkshires, including multi-instrumentalists Bobby Sweet and Adam Michael Rothberg, drummer Dave Lincoln and bassist Jody Lampro, among others. — Seth Rogovoy - Berkshires Week


"Music Revue"

Music Revue Magazine
A great vocalist and spirited performer, JoAnne Redding offers up a fine collection of bluesy, country, and gospel songs on The Running Kind. Her "Take It From Me" has a similar feel to Bonnie Raitt's version of John Prine's classic "Angel From Montgomery," with a strong and sincere vocal and understated rural blues guitar fills from Bobby Sweet. "Forty-Something Female" is cool western swing with self-effacing lyrics about the joys of advancing maturity.
As a songwriter and singer, Redding shows great range in musical styles, from the quiet ballad, "On The Outside Looking In" to the steamy country funk of "I Want Everything." Her "The Patient Kind" should be all over the radio, an instant classic that should be in the repertoire of all the top country vocalists, although it's hard to imagine anyone topping her own version.

Redding is also a great interpreter of others' songs, like her cover of Lee Roy Parnell's "You're Taking Too Long" and "Richest One" by Bill Carter. As with her own material, she has a way of getting right to the heart of the song and making it totally believable and powerful. Even non-believers will be praising the Lord by the time Redding hits the high notes at the end of her gospel rocker, "Thy Will Be Done." Like the best singer-songwriter albums, "The Running Kind" gets better with each listening. — Paul Burton
- Music Revue


"Berkshires Week"

JoAnne Redding kicks off her new CD, The Running Kind,with the hard-rocking title track, a radio-ready mainstream roots-rocker worthy of heartland performers like Melissa Etheridge or John Mellencamp. Throughout the next nine songs, Redding's rootsy versatility is felt through the comic western-swing novelty of "Forty-Something Female" ("Still got that jiggle but it's lower/Than it ever used to be"), the classic country balladry of "On the Outside Looking In," the sassy, sexy blues-rock strut of "I Want Everything," and the teasingly naughty "Pink Slip Blues," With a version of Lee Roy Parnell's bluesy, swinging "You're Taking Too Long," featuring Berkshire's Bobby Sweet, who co-produced the album with Redding, on slide guitar, and the gospel-rock strains of "Thy Will Be Done," Redding comes across as nothing less than the Berkshires' answer to Bonnie Raitt, or perhaps the female answer to Lyle Lovett." — Seth Rogovoy - Berkshires Week


"Singer & Musician Magazine"

I enjoy a strong woman’s voice. Both a strong voice, and a strong woman. JoAnne Redding fits the bill. She has a voice that simply does not quit, and her no-nonsense style shines forth in this great CD. However, it’s not hard to tell that she’s having an absolutely great time, and wants you to have one while you’re listening, too. Redding opens with the title track and informs you exactly how it’s going to be. The second track, “Credit Card Shuffle” is nothing short of hilarious. The entire CD begs you to sing along, and whether you have the blues or not, you find something great in each track. Redding has sung with Lee Roy Parnell and Delbert McClinton, and regularly performs at The Guthrie Center. “I sing what I feel, and I feel what I sing,” Redding says. It’s no exaggeration. You can tell that Redding throws her heart into the ring each time she opens her mouth, and when you combine that feeling with a great voice the result is an entire CD that’s singable and that any listener can relate to. I particularly loved “Tread Softly”, “Love and A Song”, and “I’ve Earned The Right (To Sing The Blues)”. — A.H. - Singer & Musician Magazine


"Blues Freepress"

JoAnne Redding's new album How It Is kicks in with the funky and punchy title track demonstrating her affinity with the bluesier end of the roots spectrum. When the music turns acoustic the feeling is more of country and mountain roots. All ten tracks are JoAnne Redding original compositions thus displaying talent beyond her well-developed and expressive voice. Her music has been getting frequent radio airplay across the USA and further afield too. How It Is is a well-produced album mixed and engineered by Bobby Sweet who also plays the electric guitar parts and contributes backing vocals. Every once in a while a lady with a voice breaks onto the scene but JoAnne Redding stands just a little taller. Don't be surprised if she gets picked up by a major label sometime soon. — Judge Jones - Blues Freepress Online Magazine


Discography

How It Is (2004)
>Top Ten on Roots Music Report's Blues Chart 11/04 - 1/05
>"I've Earned the Right (to Sing the Blues)" on Blues Revue Magazine 12/05 CD Complilation
>Invited to perform "A Family to Love" at the Rhode Island State House on National Adoption Day

The Running Kind (2000)
>Played on over 250 radio stations worldwide
>Title cut featured on "All My Children"
>"Pink Slip Blues" aired on "Sound Money"

Run With It (1993)
>International airplay and distribution
>Title cut nominated for Northeast CMA Song of the Year

Photos

Feeling a bit camera shy

Bio

From sensitive to soaring, JoAnne Redding’s vocals shine like a multi-faceted gem. Her songs are a soulful mix of self-penned roots music—blues, country, and rock n’ soul—that resonate from her own life experiences. Redding’s current CD, How It Is, spent three months in the Top Ten of Roots Music Report’s Blues Chart, and one of her tunes, “I’ve Earned the Right (to Sing the Blues),” was featured on a compilation CD distributed by the national magazine Blues Revue. Redding was honored to be invited to perform another cut from that album, her poignant song about older child adoption, “A Family to Love,” at the Rhode Island State House on National Adoption Day.

A former Americana radio program director and morning show host, Redding has been an invited guest speaker for the Connecticut Songwriters Association, and a guest on radio and television throughout the United States. Her first CD, Run With It, recorded in Nashville gained her international airplay and distribution. Her follow-up 2000 album, The Running Kind, was played on more than 250 radio stations worldwide. The title cut was featured on the daytime drama All My Children and her “Pink Slip Blues” aired on the syndicated personal finance show Sound Money.

Redding has many sides. She has shared the bill with major country acts including Asleep at the Wheel, The Mavericks, Hank Williams Jr., and many others. She’s has sung with two of her Texas blues heros: Upon hearing her opening set for him, Lee Roy Parnell brought her on stage to sing his hits with him. He repeated that crowd-pleasing move in September 2006, when the two were appearing at the same New York State venue. Sharing a song on stage with Delbert McClinton was another thrill.

On the folk side, Redding performs regularly at The Guthrie Center—Arlo Guthrie’s venue from “Alice’s Restaurant” fame—and she has showcased at the heralded Falcon Ridge Folk Festival, selected from over 400 applicants. Redding’s spiritual vocals have helped her raise church rafters, singing solo a cappella and backed by full choirs and instrumentation.

Regardless of the genre, a gut-level honesty connects Redding with her audiences. “I sing what I feel, and I feel what I sing,” says Redding. “That’s what it’s all about. If I can make somebody feel something, unearth some true emotion, then I’m a happy woman.”

JoAnne Redding is a spirited performer who has appeared from New Orleans to New England.