India Ramey

Blasting twin barrels of Americana noire and southern-gothic songwriting, India Ramey fires on all cylinders with her national debut, Snake Handler.

Pentecostal churches, broken households, crooked family trees, forgotten pockets of the Deep South, and domestic violence all fill the album’s 10 songs, whose autobiographical lyrics pull from Ramey’s experience as a young girl in rural Georgia. Intensely personal and sharply written, Snake Handler shines a light on the darkness of Ramey’s past, driving out any lingering demons — or snakes, if you will — along the way.

Inspired by the warm sonics of Jason Isbell’s Southeastern and the big-voiced bombast of Neko Case’s Furnace Room Lullabies, Snake Handler was recorded in six days with producer Mark Petaccia — Southeastern‘s sound engineer, coincidentally — and members of Ramey’s road band. Ringing guitars, violin, atmospheric organ, and percussive train beats all swirl together, leaving room for Ramey’s voice — an instrument punctuated by the light drawl of her hometown and the quick tremolo of her vibrato — to swoon, swagger, and sparkle. It’s a voice she began developing as a child in Rome, Georgia, singing made-up songs into her electric hair curler while her parents fought just outside her bedroom door. The family home was a violent one, the product of an addicted father who flew into an abusive rage whenever his vices took control. Despite being the youngest of three children, Ramey grew up quickly, robbed of a typical childhood by her unpredictable home life. She recollects those early years in “The Baby,” skewers her no-good dad in “Devil’s Blood,” tells her mother’s story in “Rome to Paris,” and paints a less-than-inviting picture of her hometown in “Devil’s Den.”

Although her childhood lacked peace, it was filled with music, thanks to a charismatic grandfather who, in his younger years, sang in an Alabama-based gospel quartet. Known regionally for his talents, he turned down an offer to become a permanent performer on The Lawrence Welk Show when his wife refused to move to the big city. Instead, he remained in his hometown of Sand Mountain, Alabama — notorious for its number of snake-handling churches — and worked as piano tuner, decorating his own home with cast-off pianos and other instruments. It was during trips to that house, with her mother playing autoharp and her grandaddy playing acoustic guitar, that Ramey grew up singing.

“He lived to be 98,” she says of her grandfather, “and when he was in the nursing home, I bought my first guitar at Wal-Mart. I took it to him so he could teach me a couple chords, and he told me, ‘I don’t regret anything about my life, but I still wonder what might have happened if I would’ve done something with my music. I’m proud of you for getting your education, but I want you to take this guitar and do something with your music.’ So that’s what I’m doing.”

Georgia born, Alabama raised and Nashville based Americana and Country artist, India Ramey was singing before she could talk. The granddaughter of a Sand Mountain, Alabama bluegrass and gospel singer, she came by her love to music honestly. “There was always music around me growing up whether it was Grandaddy’s gospel singing or Saturday house cleaning days with my Mom and sisters singing Fleetwood Mac at the top of our lungs.

India’s musical journey was not typical. “Having grown up poor, there was a lot of pressure for me to ‘go to college and make money’ so I convinced myself that music was just a hobby”. Ramey, a domestic violence survivor graduated college, got a law degree and became a domestic violence prosecutor. Despite her love of helping people, Ramey’s love for music won in the end. She gave up her law career to become a full-time musician and songwriter, moved to Nashville and has never looked back.

Featured as one of the “Must See Acts at SXSW “(No Depression, Austin Chronicle), a Nashville’s Lighting 100 artist of the week, a two-time Americanafest showcasing artist, and one of NPR’s “10 Nashville Artists on the Rise”, India has only continued to rise among the ranks of as one of Country and Americana’s brightest up and coming artists. Ramey’s last two albums’ mix of Americana noire, country and southern-gothic songwriting helped expand Ramey’s reputation far beyond the Deep South and she toured heavily around and beyond those releases. Her most recent album, Shallow Graves debuted at number six on the Euro Americana Charts and landed a song as Rolling Stone’s pick of the week.

Now, Ramey is wrapping up recording a new album with Grammy award winning producer, Luke Wooten (Brad Paisley, Dierks Bentley, Sunny Sweeny, Jim Lauderdale). The new album leans further into India’s classic country sound but still features her affinity for dark cinematic imagery. The album has a big, warm sound and is some of India’s best, most introspective writing yet. “I have experienced so much growth as a human and as an artist over the past three years and it’s all here in these songs.” -India Ramey