snOwFOAM 2017 Amy LaVere & Will Sexton

Amy LaVere was born in Louisiana and steeped in her parent's love of country music. She moved around a lot with her family as a GM brat (“Dad moved around to open factories”), and the family eventually settled near Detroit, at least everyone but her father, who continued to travel for work. The family structure eventually gave way. She and her sister rebelled, and one of the ways Amy did so was by joining a punk band at age 14. Rebellion is still a potent theme for her, and she continues to defy and test love’s constraints in many of her songs.

The early 1990s found LaVere in Nashville as part of the burgeoning Lower Broadway scene, where she began to play upright bass as half of the popular roots duo The Gabe & Amy Show. By 1999, she had moved to Memphis where she began work at Sun Studio. In 2006, Amy released her debut solo album, The World is Not My Home, to instant national acclaim. Memphis has clearly fallen for Amy, voting her the best singer in the city in 2010 and 2011.

Amy's acting career began with her cameo as Rockabilly queen Wanda Jackson in Walk The Line and continued with a featured role in Craig Brewer’s Black Snake Moan. She played two amazing sets at the Ogden Valley Roots and Blues Festival in 2016 as part of The Luther Dickinson Trio. Amy has four full length solo records to her credit, as well as her latest release with husband Will, Hallelujah, I'm a Dreamer

Fate and his talent placed Will Sexton on stage with local legends at a young age. Will and his big brother, Charlie, started playing together at the Continental Club when Will was 9 and Charlie was 11. Will received early success in Austin and was signed by MCA at age 16. Will has amassed an impressive collection of songs over the years, releasing his first independent album, Scenes From Nowhere, in 2001, which received a four-star review and was honored in the Top 5 Releases of 2001 by the Austin American-Statesman. 

Will’s credits as producer and songwriter range from collaborations with Waylon Jennings, Stephen Stills, Joe Ely, Bill Carter and psychedelic pioneer Roky Erikson to Steve Earle and punk legend Johnny Thunders. Will has written for MCA and Almo Irving and recorded for MCA, A&M, and Zoo Entertainment. Will was in the New Folk Underground with David Baerwald, which resulted in the co-produced (w/ David Kitay) Lost Highway release Here Comes the New Folk Underground. Will names Terry Allen and Sheryl Crow hitmaker David Baerwald among his favorite writing partners. 2009 marked the completion of new production credits, including Randy Weeks’ Going My Way, and Ruby James’ CD, Happy Now, co-produced with his brother Charlie Sexton. Will produced the brilliantly crafted Respectable Enemy CD by Curtis McMurtry in 2014.

While keeping old ties deep in the heart of Texas, Will now calls Memphis home with his wife, Amy. Their new CD, Hallelujah, I’m A Dreamer is spare and tight, showcasing Will and Amy’s fine playing styles and beautiful harmonies.

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