Lauded for her vocal emotiveness and the depth of her songwriting, Daphne Willis takes the stage at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 16 at the Community Concert Hall at Fort Lewis College. The dance floor will be open.
Collaborating across multiple genres, ranging from roots-rock to pop to hip hop and electronic dance music, Willis has proven difficult to classify. Her infectious melodies and honest performances are called sincere, compelling and relevant. In merely a few years, Willis has grown from a so-called feisty neophyte into a self-assured, expressive artist with a bracingly seductive sound.
Willis grew up in Chicago, steeped in both the art and the business of music. Her mother studied vocal performance at the University of Texas, while her father worked at Sony BMG for more than 30 years.
Now living in Nashville, Willis cites influences as varied as Elvis Costello, Michael Jackson and Ella Fitzgerald. Her signing to a major label was a twist of fate as Vanguard Records head Kevin Welk heard one of her self-produced tracks while on an American Airlines flight. This led to a record deal in 2008, and the release of her second EP, Exhibit A.
She released What to Say in 2010, and has continued to record and build her career, including a worldwide publishing agreement with Sony/ATV Music Publishing. This partnership has resulted in several of her songs recorded by other artists and used in advertising, film and television productions, such as "One Tree Hill," "Empire" and a Microsoft advertising campaign.
A vocal advocate of mental health awareness and "positivity" and self-empowerment, Willis in 2016 enjoyed mainstage performances at both LA Pride and Nashville Pride. Her new album Freaks Like Me is set to be released in coming months.
View Willis performing "Somebody's Someone" at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vmacigUlvxo.
Tickets for Daphne Willis are $19 and $14 and are available online at www.durangoconcerts.com or call 247-7657, or visit the ticket office inside the Durango Welcome Center at Eighth Street and Main Avenue in downtown Durango. All sales final.
