Jenny Kerr

Jenny Kerr is one of few active contemporary artists who fully embody the breadth of the Americana idiom, mining the roots of folk, blues, country, bluegrass and rock to produce a catalog of original work that is respectfully steeped in tradition while still fresh, modern and immediately identifiable as her own.

An accomplished multi-instrumentalist, Kerr deftly traverses guitar, dobro, banjo, piano and harmonica over the course of a show, but it’s her deeply soulful, powerhouse vocals that define her sound and connect with audiences worldwide.

Kerr’s musical education began in San Francisco, where she was exposed to the European classical tradition by her grandmother, a composer and the principal violist for the Cleveland Symphony. In her formative teenage years, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin and Muddy Waters lured her away from the concert hall as she explored the vibrant Bay Area folk, blues and psychedelic rock scene of the late ‘60s and early ‘70s.

The music of The Haight led her on a journey of discovery of the foundations of Americana ­­– artists such as Mississippi Fred McDowell, Little Walter and Dock Boggs who initially inspired her to pick up guitar, harmonica and banjo.

Kerr and musical partner/producer/guitarist Phil “Philbillie” Milner are the core of a rotating collective of the Bay Area’s top session players, so every live show is fresh and unique, centered around Kerr’s songwriting and vocal delivery and accentuated by some of the finest soloists and support musicians in the business. Milner, a highly sought-after producer and session guitarist, had an extended tenure as guitar tech for Bob Weir & Ratdog as well as Tracy Chapman, Bonnie Raitt and Primus.

Kerr’s previous releases include the critically-acclaimed “Head of Fire,” produced and performed collaboratively with Bill Bottrell (Sheryl Crow, Michael Jackson, George Harrison, Madonna, Tom Petty), and a highly-anticipated, self-produced album is soon to be released on the pair’s independent label, Okey Doke Records.

Kerr is as much at home in the local music scene of Marin County which she now calls home as she is on major festival stages nationally and worldwide, bringing the same power, energy, heart and rootsy soul to every performance.

—Joshua Zucker, SF Chronicle