JOEY J.SAYE

Joey J. Saye grew up about 45 minutes west of Chicago in Aurora, Illinois. Born to a Liberian family, he was the first of whom was born in the United States. As a result of being a part of an international family, multiple styles of music, ranging from West African music to American country music, were always near and gave him an appetite for listening to music. Even before guitar, he was always a music lover. As a child, he would spend hours exploring and discovering music in his parents' cd cases. 

He was always attracted to guitars and would even borrow guitars from friends before getting his own. Eventually, his father bought him a First Act guitar from a Sam’s Club when he was about 12 years old. But after breaking the strings, he did not play for another two years. Then, when he was 14 years old, he and a friend started a rock duo called Mike K and Joey J. Saye. Impressed by his friend's guitar skills, he was inspired to play again. But this time, while digging through some CDs, he stumbled upon Memphis Minnie and Muddy Waters. These sounds drove him to reimagine what the guitar was capable of doing.

Joey was introduced to the blues community at age 16 when he was out with his high school friends. He heard blues music playing in the distance and chose to follow the sound. This choice led to the meeting, befriending, and playing with the Dave Herrero band that night. Dave Herrero, the group leader, invited him back next week, and this started a cadence of mentoring for Joey J.

Since then, Joey J. Saye has played in and around Chicago, participating in the blues community. During this time, he has shared the stage with many of Chicago's top-shelf blues musicians such as Mary Lane, Willie Buck, Billy Flynn, Bob Stroger, and more. He currently is releasing digital content, holds a residency at Rosas on Thursday nights in Chicago, and plays blues across the country.

Artist web site : https://www.jjsayemusic.com/