Vanessa Collier fondly recalls the good old days before she knew you in her confidently swaggering new single Take Me Back — premiering exclusively on Tinnitist.
The first preview of the 12-time Blues Music Award nominee and four-time winner’s upcoming sixth album Do It My Own Way — due Sept. 13 via Phenix Fire Records — the minor key, noir-tinged single seems to be about wanting to be taken back by an ex-lover. But that’s a feint: The powerhouse singer and multi-instrumentalist really wants to return to a time before she knew what she was in for.
If you want to know what you’re in for with Do It My Own Way, well, three of her chief influences are James Brown, Bonnie Raitt and the Wood Brothers — and you’ll be able to hear the impression they’ve left on her when you spin the album. She dives into deep soul territory on Wild As A Rainstorm, with advice to ignore the naysayers and “be a tapestry of dreams.” The groove and horns would make Willie Mitchell proud. Meanwhile, the anthemic title cut concerns the sexism she’s encountered in the music industry. Collier takes on multiple roles, writing, producing, arranging horns and other parts, playing acoustic and electric guitars and alto, soprano, and tenor saxophones, as well singing the lead and background vocals.
Having first picked up the saxophone at the age of nine, Collier embarked on her road to recognition at Berklee, earning dual degrees in performance and music production. While still completing her degree, Collier landed a position touring with Joe Louis Walker, working with him for a year and a half before Joe encouraged her to strike out on her own. And strike out she has.
These days, Collier spends much of her time on the road, performing at some of the most prestigious festivals in the world. Her talents have taken her to the Blues Music Awards Show, the Ottawa Blues Festival (where she earned two front page newspaper photos and rave reviews after her foot stomping debut), the Legendary Rhythm and Blues Cruise (where she earned the Jammingest Pro Award and was a featured artist with Tommy Castro’s Blues Review), Briggs Farm Festival (where she was the “most popular act in 2017”), and more.
Collier has won three Blues Music Awards — for Horn Player Of The Year in 2019 and 2020 and for Contemporary Blues Female Artist Of The Year in 2022. She has been nominated for eight Blues Music Awards since 2017, which puts her in elite company with artists such as Beth Hart, Samantha Fish, Shemekia Copeland, Ruthie Foster, Trombone Shorty, Al Basile and Jimmy Carpenter.
Her prior studio album, Heart On The Line, spent nine weeks in the Billboard Blues Album Chart top 15 and the songwriter/bandleader made her Chicago Blues Festival debut this year in front of tens of thousands. She was also nominated for B.B. King Entertainer Of The Year this year.
Check out Take Me Back above, hear more from Vanessa Collier below and make your way to her website, Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.
