Michelle Willis

MICHELLE WILLIS is a Canadian singer-songwriter and keyboard player based in New York City.

She’s made a name for herself touring and writing in two bands led by David Crosby, while building an impressive resume performing with artists ranging from world/funk improvisors (Snarky Puppy), punk rock pioneers (Iggy Pop), and a who’s who of new and established lush pop, soul and country artists (Becca Stevens, Michael McDonald, Laura Mvula, Zac Brown Band).
Her new album, Just One Voice, an ambitious studio record with an accompanying live and filmed EP, was released April 2022 on GroundUP Music. “Entirely current while harking back to the very best singer-songwriter traditions” (Songwriting Magazine), “Sharp, hip, singer-songwriter music” (Pop Matters). The album features guest performances by Crosby, Michael McDonald, Grégoire Maret, Becca Stevens and Taylor Ashton.

 

“Sharp, hip, singer-songwriter music”
– Pop Matters
“Beautifully therapeutic, captivating sophomore album, a record of reckoning and rejuvenation that is as musically radiant and soothing as it is emotionally turbulent and raw.”
– Atwood Magazine
“A rich and immersive experience that manages to sound entirely current while harking back to the very best singer-songwriter traditions.”
– Songwriting Magazine
“Fluid, powerful, graceful… such a fine writer… a soulful, rich, deep player and bandleader who just swings as if her life depended on it”
– David Crosby

 

Support from VALERIA POZZO

Valeria Pozzo is a classically trained violinist, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer who feels comfortable crossing genres, taking influence from Joni Mitchell to Jeff Buckley and Emiliana Torrini. Pozzo’s music is born out of her love for storytelling within an intimate and nuanced palette. It brings together melodies inspired by folk, rich harmonic movements and intricate yet tasteful grooves informed by jazz. 

Over the years, her boundless musical curiosity led her to perform with artists spanning a spectrum of styles such as Jazz Jamaica, ESKA, Sam Ryder, Neil Cowley, Antonio Forcione, Robert Mitchell, Coke Studio Pakistan and Southbank Sinfonia. Valeria has performed at many prestigious venues such as the Royal Albert Hall, Royal Festival Hall, Queen Elizabeth Hall and has sung at world renowned Abbey Road Studio, where she recorded a cover of George Harrison’s ‘Here Comes The Sun’ for Peroni Nastro Azzurro. 

Valeria’s classical background, along with her extensive collaborations with a variety of artists, seem to perfectly synthesise in her own work. In 2020 Valeria released her debut single ‘My Heart’, written, recorded and produced by her at home during lockdown. 

Much of Valeria’s writing is directly inspired by her own personal experience, with themes of family, relationships, and distance explored with a deft touch and a heart-rending wisdom. Her self-produced EP ‘Circles’ due to be released in February 2023, was written from a place of vulnerability; a response to the fact that, sometimes, we are exposed and open but not met in the way we hope. The songs move through cycles of stability and turmoil. They represent a quest for connection, acceptance and belonging; an attempt to resolve something that is broken.