Vanessa Collier

“She stands out as a vocalist, sax player, and with a sneak attack guitar ability that brings the “old blues” right into the modern day. Belting out the blues her voice truly transcends the moment and takes you with her on a ride through the emotion and story of each song. There is no moment where you are left just listening, you are truly traveling.” – New England Blues Review

If you haven’t been fortunate enough to meet Vanessa Collier and witness one of her head-turning, fiery, and passionate performances, her set will blow your mind. As a master musician and multi-instrumentalist, Vanessa weaves funk, soul, rock, and blues into every powerful performance. With soulful vocals, searing saxophone, and witty songwriting, Vanessa is blazing a trail, racking up an arsenal of honors, and has already singled herself out as an artist of distinction.

It’s not simply the accolades she has accumulated so far, although they’ve been many, including two Blues Music Awards for Horn Player of the Year, seven BMA nominations, a Blues Blast Award nomination, the Jammingest Pro Award bestowed by the Legendary Rhythm & Blues Cruise, First Place for lyrics in the International Songwriting Competition, and Best of 2014 Blues Breaker on Dan Aykroyd’s BluesMobile. It’s the fact that she has accumulated all these honors even while her career is still in its infancy.

Having first picked up the saxophone at the age of 9, Collier embarked on her road to recognition at the prestigious Berklee College of Music, earning dual degrees in Performance and Music Production & Engineering. While still completing her degree, Collier landed a position touring with Joe Louis Walker for a year and a half before Joe encouraged her to strike out on her own. And strike out she did.

She’s toured nationally and internationally, released four critically acclaimed albums including the highly anticipated fourth album, Heart on the Line, in May 2020. In 2017, Vanessa was also a featured artist in three major tours across Europe as part of Ruf Records’ 2017 Blues Caravan.

As for Collier, she says she’s happy performing on stages across the world, hoping that she can make a difference with fans and followers along the way. “I am driven to do this because I find it a total form of expression and connection,” she explains. “I love connecting with an audience and feeling their energy and I hope to inspire people to follow their dreams and passions, to find what brings them joy, and then to pursue it doggedly.”