* LISTEN * to a Q&A with GRAMMY Nominee + Retro-Soul Singer and Songwriter: ANDRA DAY

Retro-soul singer and songwriter ANDRA DAY is from San Diego, California, where she performed in church and enrolled at the School of Creative and Performing Arts. After she graduated from the school, she leaned toward contemporary R&B and pop, but was eventually drawn back to the classic jazz and soul vocalists she heard as a youngster.

A major break came when a performance of hers was caught by Kai Millard Morris, who subsequently took some of Day’s music to husband Stevie Wonder, who in turn connected Day with music industry veteran Adrian Gurvitz. Aligned with Gurvitz and Jeffrey Evans’ Buskin label, Day built up a YouTube following and eventually signed with Warner Bros.

photo-credit-myriam-santos-extralarge_1431975963446

Photo by: Myriam Santos

After a few singles, as well as a version of “Mississippi Goddamn” contributed to Nina Revisited: A Tribute to Nina Simone, Day released her debut album, Cheers To The Fall (2015), for which she collaborated extensively with the likes of Gurvitz and Raphael Saadiq, among others. “Only Love” alone featured bass from Pino Palladino, drums from Questlove, scratching from DJ Jazzy Jeff, and additional support from the Dap-Kings horn section.

All Access Music writer, Nicole DeRosa had a chance to catch up with ANDRA DAY between opening for Lenny Kravitz at The Greek and fresh from her performance at the Life Is Beautiful Festival in Las Vegas.

LISTEN to their chat via Soundcloud below:

The singer also caught the attention of director, Spike Lee who directed her video for the song, “Forever Mine” which you can enjoy below as well:

To keep up to date with ANDRA DAY , visit her website HERE

About the Author

Nicole DeRosa joined the All Access Music Group family in February 2012. She loves the infectious energy and enthusiasm of the music industry and she feels right at home having music compliment her every day. Nicole blends her experience and skills which she has culled from her time working in New York as a photo researcher and editor at Entertainment Weekly and Harpers Bazaar Magazine. After New York, Nicole moved to London for school and there she stood in line for hours on Oxford Street to hear Paul McCartney play an impromptu concert on a rooftop. Another notable experience while living in London was her first time ever calling into a radio station, she won an invite to a record release party with the Beastie Boys for their album 'Ill Communication'. "I love London as it has such a vibrant and diverse music scene and I couldn't help but go out every night to check out gig after gig. It was a wonderful time." Living near the notable Sherpards Bush Empire music venue one of her most favorite concerts to date was seeing Bjork. Nicole has also worked for Walt Disney World in Product Development and later went on to work at Disney's Feature Animation Archives in Florida. Nicole has a passion for travel and adventure and has always wanted to live in California so she packed up and moved four years ago to the "left coast" and has been loving it ever since.