Michelle Malone

Folk-rocker Michelle Malone was born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia, spending her summers on tour with her mother, a pop singer-turned-gospel vocalist. While attending Agnes Scott College, Malone befriended the Indigo Girls' Amy Ray and Emily Saliers, who in turn encouraged her to pursue a career in music; she soon quit school and honed her skills in local clubs, issuing her debut album, New Experience, in 1988. Forming the band Drag the River, she returned two years later with Relentless, followed in 1992 by the solo effort For You Not Them. After completing 1993's seasonal jazz-inspired effort A Singin' Christmas in the Attic, Malone formed another group, Band de Soleil, to record 1994's Redemption Dream; she again went solo, resurfacing three years later with Beneath the Devil Moon. Homegrown followed in 1999, and in mid-2000 Malone issued Lucky to Be Live. Strange Bird, Vol. 3 and Hello Out There followed in early 2001. Malone and the Low-Down Georgia Revue signed on with Amy Ray's Daemon to promote Stompin' Ground, which was issued in 2003. The rugged Sugarfoot was issued in 2006, with its hip, left-turn cover of "Where Is the Love" followed by the live, loud, and proud Redemption Dream later that year. Malone began recording for SBS in 2008 with the live Sunscream, followed by the studio effort Debris in 2009. After an extended break from recording — though not from touring or writing — she re-emerged in late 2012 with the acclaimed Day 2. The album was co-produced by Shawn Mullins and Gerry Hansen and featured an all-star studio cast that included Chuck Leavell and Randall Bramblett. Her 2014 album Acoustic Winter originated as a set of acoustic demos for a planned EP, but with minimal additions, Malone arranged these raw recordings into an intimate winter soundtrack.