Katie Henry is an American

blues rock Blues rock is a fusion music genre, genre and form of rock music, rock and blues music that relies on the chords/scales and instrumental improvisation of blues. It is mostly an electric ensemble-style music with instrumentation similar to electri ...

singer, guitarist, pianist and songwriter. She has released two solo albums since 2018, and is currently signed to

Ruf Records Ruf Records is a German independent record label, which was founded in 1994 by Luther Allison’s manager, Thomas Ruf, to promote Allison's career. The motto of the blues label is "Where Blues Crosses Over". The company's office is located in L ...

. Her most recent album, ''On My Way'', reached number six on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' Top Blues Albums Chart.

Life and career

Henry was raised in

Vernon Township, New Jersey Vernon Township is a Township (New Jersey), township in Sussex County, New Jersey, Sussex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is located about a one hour drive from New York City and is part of the New York metropolitan area. As of the ...

, and attended

Vernon Township High School Vernon Township High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school located in Vernon Township, in Sussex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The school opened in 1975 and serves students in ninth through twelfth grades as the lo ...

before transferring to

Pope John XXIII Regional High School Pope John XXIII Regional High School is a Roman Catholic high school in Sparta, in Sussex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The school was founded in 1956, originally as ''Our Lady Of The Lake School'' and is part of the Roman Catholic D ...

. She started to learn to play the piano at the age of six, and was encouraged by his musical family giving her access to recordings by

the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

the Doors The Doors were an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1965, comprising vocalist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, guitarist Robby Krieger and drummer John Densmore. They were among the most influential and controversial rock acts ...

and

Janis Joplin Janis Lyn Joplin (January 19, 1943 – October 4, 1970) was an American singer and songwriter. One of the most iconic and successful Rock music, rock performers of her era, she was noted for her powerful mezzo-soprano vocals and her "electric" ...

. Henry began writing songs in the back of her school notebooks. "

Me and Bobby McGee "Me and Bobby McGee" is a song written by American singer-songwriter Kris Kristofferson and originally performed by Roger Miller. Fred Foster shares the writing credit, as Kristofferson wrote the song based on a suggestion from Foster. A posth ...

" was the first song that she performed in public, although it took until her teenage years before Henry got interested in blues, then relishing recordings of

Elmore James Elmore James ( Brooks; January 27, 1918 – May 24, 1963) was an American blues guitarist, singer, songwriter, and bandleader. Noted for his use of loud amplification and his stirring voice, James was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ...

Freddie King Freddie King (born Fred Christian; September 3, 1934December 28, 1976), also billed as Freddy King, was an American blues guitarist, singer and songwriter. He is considered one of the "Three Kings of the Blues Guitar" (along with Albert King a ...

and

John Lee Hooker John Lee Hooker (August 22, 1912 or 1917 – June 21, 2001) was an American blues singer, songwriter, and guitarist. The son of a sharecropper, he rose to prominence performing an electric guitar-style adaptation of Delta blues that he develo ...

. She attended

Manhattan College Manhattan University (previously Manhattan College) is a private, Catholic university in New York City. Originally established in 1853 by the De La Salle Christian Brothers (Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools) as an academy fo ...

, playing on evenings and weekends, at open mic events and later with a

Bronx The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...

-based blues band, before going solo and performing in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

blues clubs. She self-released her debut album, ''High Road'', on November 21, 2018. Henry sang and played piano, clavinet and guitar, with the keyboard player

John Ginty John Ginty (born 1972) is an American organist, keyboard player, and session musician. He was a founding member of Robert Randolph's "Family Band", and is often seen guesting with such jamband luminaries as the Allman Brothers, Santana, Govt. Mule ...

adding his skills as performer and record producer. The ten tracks on the album were jointly written by Henry and Antar Goodwin (her bassist and musical director). The recording earned her national recognition, including nominations from both the

International Bluegrass Music Awards The International Bluegrass Music Awards is an award show for bluegrass music presented by the International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA). Awards are voted based on professional membership in the IBMA. Award winners 2021 award winners The ...

and ''Blues Blast''. The recording processes for her sophomore album began in May 2021, at

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

's Degraw Sound Studios. Henry was joined by the record producer and guitarist Ben Rice, her bassist Antar Goodwin, plus Kurt Thum (piano and organ),

Greg Wieczorek Greg Wieczorek (aka G. Wiz) is a New York City based drummer, percussionist, vocalist and songwriter. Born in Baltimore Maryland, Greg has recorded and performed internationally with: Norah Jones, Joseph Arthur, The Lonely Astronauts, The Autu ...

(drums), and the British harmonicist Giles Robson. Henry stated "We recorded the album live during the pandemic, and it was so fun to be able to record in a room with people after feeling isolated for such a long time. The majority of the album was laid down live, and I love that feeling. It's like capturing lightning in a bottle". Henry's guitar playing was more to the fore on ''On My Way'' than her previous record. ''On My Way'' was released on January 28, 2022 via

. The album contained ten original songs, co-written with Goodwin. The critical acclaim included tributes from Henry Yates of ''

Classic Rock Classic rock is a radio format that developed from the album-oriented rock (AOR) format in the early 1980s. In the United States, it comprises rock music ranging generally from the mid-1960s through the early-1990s, primarily focusing on comm ...

'', plus ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...

'', and ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'', the latter of which saluted "a runaway talent you need to keep up with". Her international debut came via her involvement with Ruf Records's 2022 Blues Caravan Revue. She appeared along with Will Jacobs and

Ghalia Volt Ghalia Vauthier, known professionally as Ghalia Volt, is a Belgian blues rock singer, guitarist, drummer and songwriter. She has been involved in the release of five albums since 2016, including ''Mississippi Blend'' (2019) released on Ruf Record ...

, and a CD was released of the live performance highlights. In late 2022, Henry commenced the second leg of her European tour in support of the ''On My Way'' album. By this time the record had reached a high of number six on the ''

'' Top Blues Albums Chart. Henry's third solo album, ''Get Goin, was released on February 23, 2024 by Ruf Records.

Discography

Albums

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Henry, Katie Year of birth missing (living people) Living people American blues singers American blues guitarists American blues singer-songwriters American women guitarists American women pianists American women songwriters Blues rock musicians Songwriters from New Jersey Guitarists from New Jersey Manhattan College alumni Singers from New Jersey People from Vernon Township, New Jersey Pope John XXIII Regional High School alumni Vernon Township High School alumni 21st-century American male singers 21st-century American singer-songwriters 21st-century American guitarists