LISA MILLS
LISA MILLS
SOUTHERN SOUL AMERICANA GOSPEL & BLUES
Lisa Mills takes her audiences on a musical, and often humorous, emotional journey with
charm and panache that is melodic, raw, unfettered and, most important, searingly honest:
expect blues, country, gospel and soul influences…
The confluence of influences that comprise the namesake river of Lisa Mills’ native Mississippi are
indeed “mighty”. However, to lump her interpretation of those blues, country, gospel and soul
influences under the catch-all “roots music” moniker is both right…and entirely wrong.
Her defiance of description is what makes Lisa Mills a singular talent. She takes the best of each
these genres, whether self-penned or carefully chosen covers that speak to her in some way, and
utterly transforms them. By taking all those ingredients and adding the occasional dollop of jazz
inflection, Mills serves up her own savoury-sweet mix that goes beyond the expected. The result is
at least equal to, often surpassing the historic best that each of those genres have to offer. She is
one of those rare artists that, once you’ve heard her, cannot possibly be mistaken for anyone else.
Having completed a monumental, and universally acclaimed tour of the UK and Europe in 2016 –
and as the acknowledged star of every festival and venue at which she performed – Lisa Mills is
back in 2017 to give her burgeoning audiences even more of what they simply could not get
enough of last year.
Mills will showcase her latest, now officially released, labour of love – and it is genuinely that –
Mama’s Juke Book, a collection of classic songs collated by Mills’ best friend and biggest fan, her
late mother, found in a tattered notebook years after her passing. Mills’ interpretation of these
songs, many of them familiar, others destined to become so, are taken to heights that only Mills is
seemingly able to reach.
Mills will also include selections from her aptly named Tempered in Fire album, and the deeply
personal and introspective I’m Changing. As a bonus for 2017, the ever-evolving Mills will give first
airings to some new, as yet unrecorded work destined for her next project.
And that’s one of the many beauties of her live performances. How a woman, flying solo
accompanied only by her faithful archtop guitar “Evangeline” and a seldom-referenced set list can
hold an audience, breathless, in her hand with barely a whisper one second, and the next erupt
into a soaring crescendo that creates the illusion of a full band that only she seems able to know
the limits to, is at once thrilling and mystifying. As is often overheard at her concerts, “How on earth
does she do that?!”
Lisa Mills takes her audiences on a musical, and often humorous, emotional journey with charm
and panache that is melodic, raw, unfettered and, most important, searingly honest. She leaves it
all on the stage…and in your heart. Like the best of any performing artist of note, she draws from
deeply personal aspects of her life and makes them a memorable part of yours. In short, once
heard, she’s impossible to forget.
Mills now resides in Mobile, Alabama (thank you Hurricane Katrina) and draws from – but is never
limited to – those influences, too. (Just listen to the seminal “Way Down South”, which alone
conveys a powerful, almost overwhelming sense of time and place.)
True to the river that bears the name, Lisa Mills remains a Mighty Mississippi native with a strength
of spirit that resonates through her exceptional guitar mastery and her mighty, breathtaking voice.
Lisa Mills, is mighty good.
more about LISA:
LAST ALBUM:
http://lisamills.com/
Originally recorded by Little Richard in the early 1970s in Muscle Shoals, Mills’ rendition of “Greenwood, Mississippi” is the first single release off of her upcoming album, The Triangle, and is a tribute to the incredible sound and feel of the great southern soul music of the 60s and 70s. Mills recorded the track with some of the original musicians in the same studio where it was first recorded.
The Triangle is full of wonderous story-telling music from the triangle that is Memphis, Muscle Shoals and Jackson, Mississippi. As Mills traveled on her musical journey, she recorded songs that were originally recorded in each city she visited and became one with the songs she recorded along the way. Mills brings her own unique interpretation to “Greenwood, Mississippi,” along with the rest of the songs on the album
The album features historic and local musicians backing Lisa on the songs that were brought forth in each locale.
“We wanted to make a traditional R and B/Blues album that preserved the spirit of the original songs, while giving them a fresh new life and point of view,” said Mollin. “Backed by a wonderful group of legendary musicians, working in the most important musical southern cities and their most historic studios was such a great thrill. For me it was the trifecta. Lisa gave each song her own special character, and it was a great pleasure producing her. I truly feel Lisa is one of the greatest soul singers I have ever heard. Now we get to share this first single with others in the hope that everyone has as much pleasure listening to this song as we had recording it.”
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