By Mark Ambrogi
Amy Speace understands her good fortune.
Legendary singer/songwriter Judy Collins signed Speace to her record label, Wildflower Records, in 2006.
“She’s been a mentor and a friend, and as a young folk singer trying to figure out if anyone would listen to me, to be signed to a recording contract by a luminary like Judy Collins is like being tapped out by the Fairy Godmother,” Speace said. “It changed my life.”
Speace, who was born in Baltimore, will perform in Decembersongs with singer/songwriter Rod Picott and Wild Ponies, featuring the husband/wife duo of Doug and Telisha Williams, at 7:30 p.m. on Dec. 11 at The Warehouse, 254 1st Avenue SW, Carmel.
“We perform original holiday songs, re-worked favorites, some parodies and we also mix in our non-holiday songs as well,” Speace said. “It’s a bit like a Bob Hope Holiday Review if Bob Hope lived in East Nashville and played Americana music.”
Decembersongs has been the same lineup for the last three years.
“We all travel in the same van and share hotel rooms, and yes we remain friends by the end of the tour,” Speace said.
Speace said the Warehouse is the perfect spot for Decembersongs.
“For this kind of show, a festival or a bar wouldn’t be appropriate,” Speace said. “We are songwriters so we need a room where people are there to listen and to enjoy music primarily, rather than a place where they’ve come to drink shots of tequila and flirt with bartenders and there’s a musician in the corner that they can ignore or shout ‘Play another Train song’ to. That’s nobody’s idea of a good holiday show. The Warehouse is a place that supports songwriters. It’s a great listening room with great sound — perfect for us.”
Speace released “Songs for Bright Street” in 2006 and “The Killer in Me” albums in 2009 on Collins’ label. Collins invited Speace to join her onstage for concerts around the country, to record her song “Born To The Breed” for a 2010 tribute record to her that also featured Joan Baez, Shawn Colvin, Rufus Wainwright and Jimmy Webb. On Collins’ album “Paradise” she sang Speace’s song “The Weight of the World.”
For Decembersongs tickets, visit liveforthemusic.com. Tickets are $25 in advance and $30 the day of the show.
