About
Judy Brown is an Alberta born singer, songwriter, guitarist, and bassist now living in Nelson, British Columbia. Writer of authentic, witty, and reflective songs, her musical style brings forth her love of traditional blues and country music and incorporates her slide guitar work. Influences of Patsy Cline, Muddy Waters, Van Morrison, Bonnie Raitt and Ellen McIlwaine can be heard throughout Judy’s music and her performance style is understated and warmly genuine.
Brown started her career touring the Alberta oil patch performing country standards in busy hotel bars and lounges. Often traveling alone by bus to small prairie towns, she spent her days practicing guitar and writing songs and her evenings performing to primarily male audiences of farmers, rig workers and traveling salesmen.
After four years of touring western Canada, she moved to Toronto to focus on her own original music. She met blues bassist Gary Kendall and guitarist Teddy Leonard, formed The Judy Brown Band and performed regularly at Toronto clubs and Ontario music festivals including Albert’s Hall, The Horseshoe Tavern, and Mariposa Folk Festival. A FACTOR funded 3 song demo, produced by Billy Bryans of The Parachute Club, soon followed and continued to open doors to radio and television appearances.
Performing abated when raising her family but her song writing continued, leading to a co-writing credit for “Lucky at Love” on Gary Kendall’s Dusty and Pearl debut album, first released in 2007 and re-released on the 2021 EP Dusty and Pearl Revisited Volume One.
Judy relocated to Nelson BC in 2016 and found herself surrounded by the West Kootenays rich and supportive arts community. She returned to recording, reuniting in Toronto with long time award winning musical friends, collaborators and producers Maple Blues and JUNO award-winners Gary Kendall (Downchild Blues Band ) and Ted Leonard (Hogtown Allstars, Fathead). Her full-length debut CD “Say It” was recorded and released in 2018 and received national and international airplay on blues, folk and country formatted shows. Her song “Roberta” garnered a 2019 Kootenay Music Award Nomination and she toured with her All-Star Ontario based recording band, including appearing at the 2019 Blues Summit in Toronto.
Having recently received funding support for her musical projects including FACTOR and Columbia Basin Trust, Judy continues to write and perform live with her BC and Ontario bands, play bass in a trio with guitarist Sam Hurrie and a duo project called BlueBirds with her partner Donny Walker. She will be touring the Columbia Basin Trust region this summer, with her all-new Judy Brown Band, featuring Holly Hyatt on bass and vocals, Sam Hurrie on guitar and Don Walker on drums and vocals.
