The Ice Queen cometh.
Armed with her patented pink, shamrock-encrusted Telecaster guitar, after more than three decades Ottawa-born and multiple-award winner Sue Foley has become a force to be reckoned with in the blues business.
And it鈥檚 only getting better.
Riding the crest of the powerful compilation of her roots and blues album the Juno-nominated, Ice Queen, Foley, 51, is bringing her show to the Aug. 23 for one night only.
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This will be her second stop at the Dream, the first was about 15 years ago.
| Described as a musical triple threat for her guitar playing, songwriting and vocals, Sue Foley is coming to the Dream Caf茅. (Submitted photo) |
鈥淚t鈥檚 a high energy show, a lot of diverse kinds of styles, it鈥檚 got a whole bunch of things going on.鈥�
The Ice Queen was recorded in San Marcos, Texas, near Austin, where she moved to at the age of 21 and features the likes of Jimmie Vaughn, Z.Z. Top鈥檚 Billy F. Gibbons, Charlie Sexton.
Now touring with the Toronto-based rhythm section of Tom Bona on drums and bassist Leo Valvassori, Foley is described as a 鈥渧eritable triple threat of musical talent鈥� for her guitar skills, songwriting and vocals.
One thing she is quick to do is dispel some fallacies about the blues that many people have.
鈥淵ou don鈥檛 have to be an old person to play the blues you just have to have that spirit, that feel,鈥� said Foley pointing to the work of the legendary Stevie Ray Vaughn who died at age 35. 鈥淛ust look at what he did.
鈥淭here鈥檚 another misconception that blues is sad but it鈥檚 not, it鈥檚 just expression, it鈥檚 just about life, a celebration of human experience. There鈥檚 fun blues, there鈥檚 happy blues, there鈥檚 playful, there鈥檚 flirtatious, sad, it kind of just runs the gamut of what it is to be human.鈥�
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She played her first gig at age 16 and she encourages young people to do what she did.
鈥淔or me (at 16) it wasn鈥檛 the normal thing to do and I had to research it,鈥� recalled Foley. 鈥淚 find when young people hear it they just love it because it鈥檚 real music. I think young people are just like everybody else. The music is real, it鈥檚 got energy and it鈥檚 got a message.
鈥淭he wonderful thing about this music is you grow into it, you get better as you get older cause you have more to tell, you have more life that you鈥檝e lived. It just takes a lot of heart and soul and feel and that you can have at a young age.鈥�
She also is dedicated to encouraging young women to pick up the guitar and is working on a book to that end.
About being on the road for so long on the current tour, over a year Foley, with a laugh, described it this way: 鈥淲e鈥檙e all grown ups and when we鈥檙e at home we all have responsibilities so this is just a way getting free, I don鈥檛 know, I always say to the guys it鈥檚 kind of like going to camp. It鈥檚 hard work but it鈥檚 a gift to be able to do this.鈥�
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