Amy Elizabeth Ray
(born April 12, 1964) [1] is an American singer-songwriter and member of the well-known contemporary folk duo Indigo Girls.
On March 6, 2001 she released her first solo album, Stag
, a southern and punk rock album. The Butchies provided support for five songs, and Nineteen Forty-Five and the Rock-A-Teens supported on one song apiece. Joan Jett helped out on "Hey Castrator". On April 12, 2005, Ray released Prom
, and on December 19, 2006, she released Live from Knoxville
. Her fourth solo album, Didn't It Feel Kinder,
was released on August 5, 2008.
Her backup band for her Stag
tour was The Butchies. In 2004, when she embarked on her Prom
tour, she brought Les Nuby (guitar), Will Lochamy (drums), and Jody Bleyle (bass). Bleyle was replaced with Tara Jane O'Neil in October because Bleyle was on maternity leave.
Ray was born and raised in Decatur, Georgia, and went on to begin college at Vanderbilt University. After a year at Vanderbilt, Ray returned to the Atlanta area to continue her education at Emory University. Ray graduated from Emory in 1986 with majors in English and Religion.
Ray currently lives in the foothills of North Georgia.
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AMY RAY TICKETS
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Side projects
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In addition to the
Indigo Girls and her work as a solo artist, Ray also runs an independent record label,
Daemon Records, which she founded in 1990 and which is based in Decatur, Georgia. Some bands signed to Daemon include
Girlyman,
Magnapop, Nineteen Forty-Five,
Michelle Malone, Three Finger Cowboy, Danielle Howle and the Tantrums, Gerard McHugh, Grady Cousins, The Oblivious,
Snow Machine,
Utah Phillips and
Rose Polenzani.
In her solo life, she most often collaborates with
The Butchies, a punk band featuring drummer,
Melissa York and vocalist/guitarist
Kaia Wilson. She has contributed the live track "Lucy Stoners" on
Calling All Kings & Queens
(2001) and the
Mr. Lady Records sampler album as well as a live recording of "On Your Honor" on a compilation for
Home Alive.
Ray is also an activist involved in multiple political and social causes, including
gay rights,
low-power broadcasting,
women's rights,
indigenous struggles,
gun control,
environmental protection and the anti-
death penalty movement among others. She has made several trips to
Chiapas,
Mexico to support the
Zapatista Army of National Liberation.
In 1993, she and
Emily Saliers co-founded
Honor the Earth with
Winona LaDuke. Honor the Earth's mission is "to create awareness and support for Native [American] environmental issues and to develop needed financial and political resources for the survival of sustainable Native [American] communities. Honor the Earth develops these resources by using music, the arts, the media, and indigenous wisdom to ask people to recognize our joint dependency on the Earth and be a voice for those not heard."
Ray was also a judge for the 3rd annual
Independent Music Awards to support independent artists' careers.
[2]
References
- Allmusic biography
- Independent Music Awards - Past Judges