ELECTRONIC PRESS KIT

“"When the Lady sings she's going to burn this whole place down you better believe it! If you like raw no bullshit blues listen to this track - she's not playin' around! 4.5 out of 5 stars"”

— Nkechi Anele - Triple J

LADY VALIANT 2018 DEBUT ALBUM 'BACKROADS' - No. 13 ON THE AUSTRALIAN BLUES & ROOTS AIRPLAY CHARTS.

Biography

Inspired by the original Delta Blues masters, Lady Valiant was formed in Georgia, United States in 2015. 

Relocating to Port Douglas Queensland in 2016, founding members, Glenna Lynes a South Carolina native and Marty Brown from country Victoria, create a 'less is more' Blues/ Rock soundscape that lacks for nothing with its minimalistic approach. Fusing genres, Lady Valiant mix old school blues from the Deep South with a twist of modern rock into their original music. Using a unique blend of dirty slide guitar, raw soulful vocals, searing fiddle and a solid drum groove they bring an authentic fresh sound to the stage with raw power and originality.

A hard working band performing around 150 shows a year, Lady Valiant cut their teeth on the Australian pub scene for years before making the move into the Festival circuit playing at Mitchell Creek Rock and Blues, Bendigo Blues & Roots, Wallaby Creek and many more as well as supporting acts such as Jon Stevens, Ash Grunwald, touring the United States and East Coast of Australia.

Christmas 2018’ saw the release of Lady Valiants debut album ‘Backroads’. An album inspired by and heavily based on the bands US tour and travels through the Deep South, Memphis and Mississippi Delta region.  A new album is also currently in the making!  From stories of the legendary Robert Johnson's crossroads, to the Gospel Churches of West Memphis, Lady Valiant have found inspiration everywhere. With their music reflecting this, they
uniquely blend elements of Soul, Blues and Folk to create a fun, funky and dirty sound.

 

GLENNA "MAISY-LOU" LYNES - VOCALS, HARMONICA, PERCUSSION

 Being born in the Deep South of The United States and having a skilled blues harmonica playing father will always have an effect on a young child. Glenna was no exception, growing up in South Carolina and Georgia she had blues music in her blood and was surrounded by regular extended music sessions regularly. It’s the Southern way.  Raised on a healthy diet of 50’s 60’s and 70’s rock and blues classic hits, Glenna grew up a natural performer. After stints on piano, fiddle and oboe it became obvious to everyone including herself that she had carried her number one instrument with her the whole time, her voice. Smashing today's auto-tuned, pop/R&B stereotypical sounds with her vocal sledge hammer, Glenna’s voice is rooted deeply in soul, guts and pure conviction. When the singing starts, the Lady Valiant front womans voice commands attention. Just as her idols before her, such as Aretha Franklin, Mavis Staples, Janis Joplin and Big Mama Thornton, Glenna’s performances are not easily forgotten.

MARTY BROWN - ACOUSTIC GUITAR, SLIDE GUITAR, STOMP BOX

 Marty was given his first guitar by his grandmother at the age of 12. A “beaten down old classical nylon string beast with a string action you could push a slice of bread through”. Nevertheless, this one gift was enough to change the world as he knew it. From that moment on, practice sessions with a locked bedroom door was a daily occurrence through his teenage years. An avid hard rock fan, Marty quickly moved to electric guitar and unleashed through the power of amplifiers but as the years progressed found himself being drawn back to acoustic guitars, in particular fingerstyle playing and experimenting heavily with alternate and open tunings. Growing up in the tiny regional Victorian town of Yackandandah, in a household which almost always had either a cassette, record or CD playing, Marty found his influences were plentiful. It wasn’t until later moving to Far North Queensland that he would co-found another folk band with friends and make music his profession. After spending time living in the Deep Southern region of the USA Marty rediscovered the blues and has since made dirty slide guitar a part of the Lady Valiant soundscape.

JAMES "FRY" ALLEN - DRUMS, VARIOUS PERCUSSION

Raised in a very wet and cold Cumbria, North West England.  Fry has been playing the "pots & pans" ever since buying his first Premiere Rock Kit in 1990.  Not long after, himself and a group of close mates got together and created their band "Broke" putting all they had into writing a mix of funk based blues originals, playing covers and taking any gig they could get their hands all while touring much of England.  After a full 'rock n' roll emotional breakdown' Fry packed his bags and drumsticks and emigrated to Australia with his sights set on Queensland where after settling into the lifestyle he even managed to purchase himself a 1950's Slingerland Drumkit with a unique sound and story of its own.  Back doing what he loved, he immersed himself into drumming again with as much local and national talent the Far North has to offer and in early 2018 was asked to come on board as drummer with Lady Valiant to give the band some real weight and groove for the Festivals and larger events that were being offered.  "When Lady Valiant asked me to give their sound a beat, my reply was simple.  F'YEAH LET'S ROCK!"

MATT GERDES - BASS GUITAR

Being dragged to band practices and gigs as a kid Matt was introduced to music by his dad, Jim. Having discovered his brother’s drum kit in the spare room he discovered he liked to hit things with sticks. At age 10 he decided to take up the saxophone after Jim expressly forbid him from learning the guitar. Somewhere in the middle of his high school experience, Matt decided that guitar would be a way better way to get the girls. Decades later he realised where he was going wrong and took up the bass instead. Matt has now come to realise that fast cars get the girls, not music. Unfortunately the development of his addiction to purchasing musical instruments means he will never be able to afford a fast car. Luckily the heat of the bass amp is enough to keep him warm at night.

 

                                           LADY VALIANT HIGHLIGHTS

BalconyTV - Kuranda Billabong 2016

Wallaby Creek Festival - Home Rule 2016

Tablelands Folk Festival - Yungaburra 2016

Runner Up - Douglas Shire Best Live Entertainment Business Awards 2016

U.S.A - Lady Valiant Throw Down Tour 2017

Runner up - Douglas Shire Best Live Entertainment Business Awards 2017

Yackandandah Folk Festival - 2018

Cairns Commonwealth Games Festival - 2018

Support for Ash Grunwald - 2018

Black Mountain Picnic Festival - Cooktown 2018

Tablelands Folk Festival - Yungaburra 2018

Cairns Music Festival 2018

Wallaby Creek Festival - Home Rule 2018

Bendigo Blues & Roots Festival - 2018

Support for Jon Stevens (Noiseworks/INXS) 2019

Mitchell Creek Rock & Blues Festival 2019

Best Live Local Entertainer (Douglas Shire Business Awards 2019)

Support for Busby Marou - 2020

Black Mountain Music Festival 2020

Footshill Blues & Roots Festival 2020

River Sessions Festival 2020

Black Mountain Blues Picnic 2021

Black Mountain Mixtape Festival 2021

Wallaby Creek Festival 2021

Tanks Arts Centre 'Grassroots Series' headline act 2021

Black Mountain Blues Picnic 2022

River Session III 2022

PRESS/REVIEWS

“"Far north Queensland blues outfit, Lady Valiant make their debut offering with Back Roads, a self produced densely packed 7 track EP celebrating the Blues, recorded at Big Sister Studios in Cairns. Formed in 2015 by South Carolina native Glenna Lynes and Victorian Marty Brown, and now based in Port Douglas, Lady Valiant are emerging as some of far north Queensland's most distinguished Blues storytellers, and if Back Roads is any indication they are just getting warmed up. With a few trips back to the US in the last few years after they formed in Georgia, Lady Valiant's inspiration by the Delta Blues masters is evident and abundant, though with contemporary gritty electric slide guitar in spades, and female lead vocals Back Roads brings a fresh take on the often male dominated genre. From the opening track “I'm Gone”, the first and last warning of a woman fed up with her man, Back Roads drives fast on a dusty road right to the last note. A sparsely hypnotic and tightly coiled version of Blind Willie Johnson's dark gospel number, “John the Revelator” reveals a more murky and dangerous side to Lady Valiant and showcases Lynes' raw and powerful vocals to full effect. “The Outlaw”, an ode to moonshining, opens with a heavily southern accented monologue from vocalist Glenna Lynes' uncle, a Georgia moonshiner affectionately known as Bubba. (Guess what? I got a fever and the only prescription is more cowbell) “Kickin' Stones” takes a more joyful tone and reminisces on the simple and sometimes mundane day to day. The following crunchy riff and hat heavy drums of “Mississippi” takes us straight back to the Deep South, where Back Roads lays its roots, with a tale about working at the infamous Dockery's plantation. In a wry nod to Brown's youth, “Old Town” is an ode to anyone who grew up in that small country town, and the deep seated need to break free before succumbing to ennui and apathy. “Crossroads”, a pared back take on the notorious tale of Robert Johnson selling his soul to the devil, closes out the album. From the grimy juke joints of Mississippi to copper stills hidden in the Georgia woods, and everything between the devil and Deep South Dixie, Back Roads is leaden with a sense of nostalgia, both personal and collective, with stories close to the hearts of its creators, and evokes an image of the Delta Blues in all its glory."”

— Stacey Brown - NQ Music Press

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