An award-winning East Coast blues, soul, funk, and R&B vocalist, songwriter, and saxophonist, Vanessa Collier earned dual degrees in Performance and Music Production & Engineering at the Berklee College of Music. After graduating, the Maryland native quickly became an ace session and touring musician, playing alongside the likes of Annie Lennox, Kathy Mattea, and Willie Nelson, among others, and embarking on a nearly two-year U.S. and international stint with Grammy winner Joe Louis Walker. In 2014 Collier issued her debut solo album, Heart Soul & Saxophone, which drew comparisons to artists like the Tedeschi Trucks Band and Bonnie Raitt. In 2017, she released her much-anticipated sophomore outing, Meeting My Shadow, via Ruf Records. ~ James Christopher Monger