PRESS, REVIEWS, NEW THINGS TO SHARE
Photo: Alex Berger. Southern Ground Studios, Nashville
Songwriter Amy Speace was entirely absorbed in theater, studying to be a Shakespearian actress in NYC. Then some fates and muses intervened and she began leaning into folk music. Before long she was recruited and mentored by the great Judy Collins, cultivating a voice that stands out even in the crowded songwriter scene of today. Now in Nashville, her story took another turn recently when she had her first child, a son, at age 50. Her complex observations about the world and herself pour out of the speakers on her newest, Me And The Ghost of Charlemagne. Also, a short phoner with Marty Stuart teasing the new mega-documentary Country Music by Ken Burns. LISTEN HERE
Once I wrote “Me and The Ghost of Charlemagne” and “Ginger Ale and Lorna Doones” I knew I was onto a kind of theme about dreams and truth and I either wrote toward that theme or I pulled out songs that were already written that spoke to that theme. You can read more about those dreams and the truth between the lines of Amy's new record in her recent interview with VENTS Magazine: CONTINUE READING
BILLBOARD: Amy Speace Stuns on Title Track of New Album 'Me and the Ghost of Charlemagne': Exclusive Premiere
Amy Speace bares her soul on the heartfelt piano ballad “Me and the Ghost of Charlemagne.” Written while on tour in Germany, the title track of her forthcoming album due out Sept. 6, has the folk singer-songwriter highlighting the ups and downs the life of a musician often entails.
The song’s stark production has Speace’s whispered vocals at the forefront while delicate piano and soaring string features flesh out the track. The accompanying music video, which Billboard premieres below, features Cora Donegan, the daughter of Kris Donegan who has played guitar on all of Speace’s albums. The video was shot by Neilson Hubbard and Josh Britt in the woods near Speace’s home in Hendersonville, Tennessee.
ROLLING STONE: 10 Best Country and Americana Songs to Hear Now: Hiss Golden Messenger, Billy Strings
Amy Speace, “Me and the Ghost of Charlemagne”
A longtime staple of East Nashville’s songwriting community, Amy Speace kickstarted her Americana career more than a decade before the genre received its own Grammy category. On this piano-led love letter to the artistic struggle, she deals with the death of a dream — a dream she’s chased for years, playing 150 shows annually in search of that ever-elusive “big break” — and the birth of a resolute decision to keep moving forward, regardless of the pay-off.
HYPEBOT: Concerts From The Closet: Amy Speace’s “Yes” to Motherhood + Music Making
When critically acclaimed singer/songwriter, Amy Speace, live streamed a Concert Window album preview from her walk-in closet to the fans who had just helped fund its release, it wasn’t because she couldn’t book another venue. It was because she is both a new mom, and a musician, and with a one year old asleep down the hallway, it was a way to say yes to both.