“… a barrel of laughs and a whole bunch of talent.”
– Amanda Putz, CBC Radio
“As a writer, Jamie takes the archetypical forms of folk music and storytelling and turns them on their heads! A fresh (in every sense) and original artist.”
-Catie Curtis
Singer-songwriter-parking lot attendant Jamie Anderson hails from Ottawa, Ontario except for the few months of the winter when she hides out in Arizona. She has played her unique original songs in hundreds of venues in four countries including forty-seven US states. Proficient on guitar, ukulele, and mandolin, this musician with an expressive soprano is folk without the Birkenstocks, country without the big hair, and jazz without the weird chords. Her twelve recordings offers a variety of topics from body image (“Beautiful”) to wanting to marry Rachel Maddow because really, who wouldn’t? Jamie loves being a musician, so she doesn’t really park cars, but her mama said she should have something to fall back on.
Her most recent recording is Songs from Home, written and recorded during the pandemic. She initially went into James Stephen’s Quebec studio (Ian Tamblyn, Lynn Miles) to record one song, “Six Feet Away,” and ended up recording six. Because it wasn’t safe for a whole band in the studio, James and Jamie played all of the instruments.
Her 2019 release, The Truth Appears, was also recorded with Stephens and some of the area’s finest musicians. This collection of seventeen originals includes “Between,” a poignant pop/folk song about the gray area between the lines of a relationship, and “A Very Sad Tail,” a dramatic piece co-written by her cat who threatened to shred the furniture if Jamie didn’t record it.
Jamie started releasing albums in the late eighties, selling thousands of albums at a time before YouTube and Spotify. She’s appeared at folk and women’s music festivals, coffeehouses, colleges, pride events, and even made an appearance on CNN where a clip of her performance aired at the top of every hour for one day.
Jamie’s dad was a country musician, a painful thing for a teenager who would rather listen to Carole King, but it did mean there were always guitars lying around the house. In high school she memorized every chord in a Mel Bay songbook, and for the next few years played local coffeehouses and weddings. After the hundredth request for “Wedding Song,” she decided to write her own songs. She recorded her first release while still a broke college student, with money donated by a woman who heard her at an open mic. Jamie did her first national tour in 1987 because she needed to earn gas money to get to a music festival. She’s been collecting tiny motel soaps ever since.
Laughter is a big part of Jamie’s live performance. Her offbeat song intros and stories help keep the performance fun, but don’t be surprised when she delves into more serious issues. She’s emceed at many events and she can hula hoop while playing the ukulele. When Jamie isn’t touring, she teaches music. Her popular YouTube channel has 73 K subscribers. One of her guitar instructional videos has gone viral, with over two million views. See it here.
Jamie’s also an author. Her memoir, Drive All Night, was published in 2014. Her second book, An Army of Lovers: Women’s Music of the Seventies and Eighties, came out in 2019. Her latest book, Drive All Day (Because I’m Too Old to Drive all Night) was released in 2022.
Awards include finalist in non-fiction for An Army of Lovers (GCLS 2020), Drive All Night (GCLS 2015), Best Jazz Song from RightOutTV (2014), the Jane Schliessman Award for Outstanding Contributions to Women’s Music (Women in the Arts, 2006), and others that only her mama cares about.
Jamie’s expressive voice and personable stage manner are an asset to any stage. She’s legally blind in one eye so you really don’t want to hand over the keys to your Volvo … although, with enough chocolate, she’ll consider it. Make sure your insurance is up-to-date.