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Sue Foley
Sue Foley is a Canadian-born guitarist and singer who has lived in Austin, Texas since the age of 21. She learned to play guitar at age 13, became interested in blues music from listening to the Rolling Stones, and played her first gig at age 16. After high school graduation, she formed The Sue Foley Band and toured Canada.
In 1988–1989, the Sue Foley Band teamed with Mark Hummel to tour across the United States, Canada and Europe as well as recording an album. The collaboration lasted a little over a year with 300 dates on the road in 1989. Clifford Antone saw Foley sitting in with Duke Robillard while the band was in Memphis for the Handy Awards that year.
Her first release was “Young Girl Blues” which she recorded for Antone’s, the blues label and historic nightclub. Foley has toured steadily with her band, toting her signature pink paisley Fender Telecaster. In 2001, she won the Juno Award for her CD, Love Coming Down. Foley has also earned seventeen Maple Blues Awards and three Trophees de Blues de France. She has also garnered several nominations at the Blues Music Awards in Memphis, Tennessee.
2018 marked Foley’s return as a solo artist with her latest album, The Ice Queen, which featured guest appearances by Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top and Jimmie Vaughan.
In May 2020, Foley won a Blues Music Award in the ‘Koko Taylor Award (Traditional Blues Female)’ category.
Foley’s the adorable guitar slinger who can sing the blues like nobody’s business and play some mean lead like Bonnie Raitt. She uses thumb & finger picks in a unique claw hammer style. No guitar effects and a Fender Telecaster instead of the Stratocaster or Les Paul one would expect. Unique and entertaining.
Albums
1992: Young Girl Blues (Antone’s)
1993: Without a Warning (Antone’s)
1995: Big City Blues (Antone’s)
1996: Walk in the Sun (Antone’s)
1998: Ten Days in November (Shanachie)
2000: Love Comin’ Down (Shanachie)
2000: Back to the Blues [also released as Secret Weapon] (Antone’s)
2002: Where the Action Is… (Shanachie)
2004: Change (Ruf)
2006: New Used Car (Ruf)
2007: Time Bomb (with Deborah Coleman, Roxanne Potvin) (Ruf)
2009: Queen Bee: The Antone’s Collection (Floating World) compilation
2010: He Said She Said (with Peter Karp) (Blind Pig)
2012: Beyond the Crossroads (with Peter Karp) (Blind Pig)
2018: The Ice Queen (Stony Plain 1398; Dixiefrog 8803)
2021: Pinky’s Blues (Stony Plain 1430)