Michelle Malone

Armed with a bottleneck slide, blues harmonica, and her signature gut-wrenching vocals, Moanin’ Michelle Malone ( a nickname given to her by Albert King after hearing her sing), is having so much fun these days that she can’t help but shake her Sugarfoot!

Malone was born in the dirty south and grew up listening to her mother sing in the church choir every Sunday. When it came time to craft her own sound, she took those religious roots, blended in enough rock and soul to keep the devil satisfied, and came up with her 9th studio CD, Sugarfoot. It's a high-spirited stripped down blend of rootsy acoustic slide, gritty electric blues and explosive vocals with just enough rough edges to get the medicine down. Sugarfoot sounds like the lost recordings of Bonnie Raitt and the Rolling Stones meeting up in Susan Tedeschi's garage for a late night jam session. And as is usually the case with Malone, the disc is an experience best enjoyed at high volume.

Songs such as "Tighten up the Springs" ,"Rooster 44" and "Traveling and Unraveling" highlight Malone's devil may care attitude and her slide guitar, which is becoming more and more of a signature for her. "I'm having a good time with it," she says. "Since I picked up the slide, I feel more free - I'm having more fun." She’s also working hard - Malone plays all the guitar, blues harp, and mandolin on the new disc.

Sugarfoot comes as close to capturing her raw spontaneity and grand, dirty, low-down power as anything to date. As well as being voted best blues guitarist on IAC.com, Sugarfoot has earned Malone critical acclaim on many "Best Of" lists including The Blues Critic Top 10 albums of the year, multiple nominations for traditional blues rock album and best female blues vocals.

In keeping with her rough and tumble attitude, Malone averages over 200 days a year on the road, and has shared stages and tours with such blues legends as Albert King, Charlie Musselwhite, Johnny Winter, Little Feat, ZZ Top , Marsha Ball and Chris Whitley, as well as folk icons Indigo Girls, Shawn Colvin, Jackson Browne and John Mayer. Malone’s live show is not to be missed - she can make the biggest venues seem as cozy as a camp fire, and an intimate venue feel like the center of the universe.

"In my Top 10 albums of the year - Malone's rich vocals blew me away. Bonnie Raitt you better start sweating now. Great range, too. She's bursting with attitude and stomping like a prettier Janis Joplin - straight up slide guitar rock that'll "drop you to your knees" It's pure ear candy with a shot of Bourbon." - Bluescritic.com

Malone's gritty, emotive vocals and sinewy arrangements that most emphatically define her. She wails like the devil's on her tail, but she isn't waiting for Satan to catch up before she catches fire" - Amplifier Magazine

“Sugarfoot mixes grit, sass, soul and some sweet balladry into such a kick-butt collection, you’d think she was the daughter of George Thorogood and Susan Tedeschi.” -Star Tribune (Minneapolis)

“Toggling between amped-up blues rockers, powder-keg acoustic romps and the occasional roots ballad, [Sugarfoot] boasts the same combustible spirit that fuels Malone’s live shows.” –Performing Songwriter

“Generally stripped-back, but featuring terrific support, Michelle Malone is as well-rounded as she is supremely talented.” –Hittin’ the Note

"Sugarfoot is blues-based rock and roll, raw and rough-honed, a modern-day Exile On Main Street - except that it has exceptional songs." - Creative Loafing (Atlanta)

"With its stuttering backbeats, elegant slide guitar and stop-time boogie, Malone’s new Sugarfoot gives the blues aesthetic a shot in the arm. Malone closes the Bonnie Raitt gap." - Nashville Scene

“Sugarfoot is just a timeless album.” –Scripps News Service

"Malone is no sellout and has recorded another tough, no nonsense collection dominated by rugged folksy blues rock." - All Music Guide

"Michelle Malone continues to define and expand her Southern-ness with honesty, integrity and foot-stomping fire. Sugarfoot shows she has the chops, the resilience and the passion to break big on her own terms. - 4 STARS The Sunday Paper (Atlanta)

Contemporary Southern rock doesn't get any smarter or dirtier than this. Poetic lyric command, relentless energy, and nasty slide guitar make Sugarfoot riveting from the get-go." - Amazon.com

"The singer has rarely sounded better or more passionate. She's confident without an ounce of pretension and seems as relaxed and self-assured. If this raw, lean and mean CD brings Malone much deserved recognition, she's earned every ounce of it the hard way" - All Music Guide

She has the soul of a bluesman, the heart of a folk singer, and the guts of a rock and roll star all wrapped up in one fiery bad ass.” --Nashville Rage