COYLE — Blues lovers are in for a treat at this Saturday’s Concerts in the Woods, the organizer said.
Missy Andersen and her accompanist/husband, Heine Andersen, will perform at 7:30 p.m. at the Laurel B. Johnson Community Center, 923 Hazel Point Road.
“We haven’t had a lot of blues music at Concerts in the Woods. But when I listened to Missy’s work, I really liked what I heard and wanted to share it with our community,” said Norm Johnson, organizer of Concerts in the Woods.
Admission is by donation. Complimentary cookies and coffee will be served at intermission to guests.
Born in Detroit and raised in Queens in New York City, the singer as a child was exposed to her parent’s extensive music collection that included soul, R&B, blues, jazz and gospel. Later she would discover Dinah Washington, Sarah Vaughn and Billie Holiday and that eventually lead her to O.V. Wright, Bobby Bland, Little Milton, James Carr, Ray Charles, Ann Peebles and Irma Thomas.
She began fronting bands in her early teens, playing local venues, which led to studio sessions and performances as a background vocalist. After moving to San Diego, she met Heine, a musician visiting from Denmark.
They would eventually marry and form the San Diego-based band Tell Mama.
It wasn’t long before they decided to strike out on their own and immediately began touring Europe for several years, recording the rhythm tracks of their debut CD, “Missy Andersen,” in Copenhagen between performances.
Andersen received the Blues Music Award nomination for Soul Blues Female Artist in 2015 and then again in 2016. She was voted Best New Artist-Female in 2009 by Real Blues Magazine and her self-titled debut CD also won Best Debut Album-Female that same year.
Her sophomore album, “In the Moment,” was listed on the Roots Music Report’s Top 50 Albums.
Originally from the country of Denmark, but steeped in American roots music, Heine Andersen has toured Europe and North America.
Heine plays lead and rhythm as well as bass lines simultaneously.
For more about the Concert in the Woods series, see www.coyleconcerts.com/index.html.
