From Sundown to Conan to MTV, Amy LaVere is making noise (and not just with her upright bass)

June 13, 2:48 PMKnoxville Country Music ExaminerEric Bohlen

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If you were lucky enough to arrive early to Sundown in the City last June to see The Everybodyfields, you were exposed to one of the most vibrant up-and-coming artists making music these days: Amy LaVere.

A native of Texas who now calls Memphis her home, LaVere has been making music for almost as long as she’s been alive. A member of the punk band “Last Minute” in her teens, she moved to Nashville and the Lower Broadway music scene in the 1990’s and became half of the group “The Gabe and Amy Show”. It was during that time that she began playing the upright bass (which actually nearly overshadows the petite 30-something while she bangs the strings on stage).

In 2006 LaVere released her first cd on Memphis’ Archer Records “This World Is Not My Home” and began to get national attention for her rockabilly-twinged bluesy sound. Her follow-up cd “Anchors & Anvils” a year later garnered her a nomination as Best New or Emerging Artist by the Americana Music Association.

Her appearance at Knoxville’s Sundown In The City in 2008 was just one her many concerts stops including the Austin City Limits Festival in Texas, the Royal Albert Hall in London, on NPR’s “World Café”, Late Night with Conan O'Brien, and a recent return to Knoxville and The Square Room on Market Square this past June 5th.

Movie buffs might also have seen LaVere in the Johnny Cash biopic “Walk The Line” as 1950’s rockabilly diva Wanda Jackson or alongside Samuel L. Jackson and Christina Ricci in “Black Snake Moan”.

Her most recent on-screen project has been in Craig Brewer’s $5 Cover on MTV. In the mini-series, LaVere’s character is that of a determined musician with a bruised and wayward heart. Her songs "Killing Him" (from "Anchors & Anvils") and "Never Been Sadder" (from "This World Is Not My Home") are the main focus of two episodes

If you arrived late to Sundown last June 26th or missed Amy LaVere at The Square Room on June 5, 2009 and you would like to get a glimpse of this superstar-in-the-making, check out her videos and full-length episodes online at http://www.mtv.com/fivedollarcover/ and you’ll see what all the noise is about.

For more info: 
Amy LaVere Official Website
Amy LaVere on Facebook
Amy LaVere on MySpace
Archer Records Website