Join the Ten Pound Fiddle community as “The Fiddle” welcomes four talented Michigan songwriters for an evening of songs and stories.
Jamie-Sue Seal has spent most of her life passionately involved in the performing arts. She began taking piano lessons as a child and studied dance and voice in her teens. She performed in musical theater, taught dance, produced and choreographed shows when she was a young adult. In 1999, Seal recorded her first albumof her own songs.
Now, more than a decade later she has recorded five albums, toured to every region of the United States and performs as a solo artist, in duos and with her band. Her repertoire reflects the different styles of music she loves including roots rock, country, folk, gospel and jazz standards. Her albums, “Fly Away” and “Free” have been heard on over 200 Americana and Roots programs across the United States and in Europe. Additionally, her music has received medium and heavy rotation Small Market Commercial Country stations – an accomplishment rarely achieved by independent musicians.
She started her boutique record label, Smokin’ Sleddog Records in 1999 and currently manages five award-winning acts on her roster. Seal has produced a monthly concert series for eight seasons called the ‘Jammin’ Round With Jamie-Sue Songwriters Series’ where she has played host to several regional and national songwriters. From 2003- 2011, she hosted the ‘Jammin’ Round With Jamie-Sue Radio Show, and since 2008, she has been the PR director for the Ten Pound Fiddle Concert and Dance Series.
Energetic and creative, Seal is a fervid supporter of other musicians, presenters and venues and a firm believer in the power of community. Jamie-Sue has several television credits as a musical guest and is a regular fill-in host of the daily “CoffeeBreak” Show, broadcast on a Mid-Michigan college radio/ TV station.
Brooklyn NY native, making Michigan her home for many years now, Siusan O’Rourke has been playing music since she was small. She is the daughter of First Generation Irish Americans and was reared within a family that not only taught the appreciation for the music of her culture but instilled in her an appreciation and love of all Genres. Especially drawn to songs that speak to those decendants of the emigration experience she prides herself in bringing to the Table renditions of Old Pieces that are clearly hers and hers alone.
Siusan possesses an astounding voice, a rare deep rich alto that is enveloping beyond the emotion of the song. With a warm and inviting presence she fills the stage with her ability to connect with her audiences both musically and through stories, some sorrowful, some whimsical. some Funny. She leaves venues with those attending feeling as though they had experienced an evening with her on a very personal level.
Added to all of this, she is a writer of Original songs written not only for her Irish Audiences in the Irish Tradition but is also an accomplished song writer and performer for her Americana Roots audiences. Now an 8 year Cancer Survivor and advocate, she is the Founder of the Cancer Stinks Roadshow which raises funding for local organizations within the communities that she travels through.
Standing out in a field of varied Performances, Siusan is able to morph seamlessly from Treasured Timeless Songs to Contemporary from Irish Tradition to American Roots from Sorrowful Ballads to Whimsical songs, bringing to her audiences an evening of Music that is fully experienced and remembered long after the last song is sung.
To hear Jen Sygit sing reminds us that old souls do live in young minds. This Fresh talent haling from Southern Michigan has made a sudden impact on the region’s musical community. Whether delving into mournful blues tunes, haunting folk ballads or rousing bluegrass numbers, Jen’s rapidly growing repertoire of original songs has surpassed many with its sophisticated lyrics and intense emotion. This Interlochen Alumus, while composing songs primarily on guitar, also plays old-time clawhammer banjo as well as the dobro.
Taylor Taylor is a 20-year-old native of Lansing, MI with African American and Colombian roots. She has been cultivating her jazzy-pop-style with classical guitar skills, warm, charismatic vocals and lyrical songwriting, which reveal intelligence beyond her years.
Highlights of her youthful career have been performing in Nashville, TN for various songwriting showcases, including the Bluebird Café; performing at LA’s, The Mint; opening for Keith Anderson, Kris Allen, Jared Lee, Pia Toscano, Jerimah, Jesse Ruben and Radio Disney’s, Shane Harper. Some exciting bills Taylor and her band have performed: Jason Derulo, Daya, Jacob Whitesides, Von Grey, Little Big Town and Randy Houser, just to name a few. She released a self-titled EP in 2012, a sophomore EP, Right Here, in January 2016 and her follow-up EP, Closer, in January 2017.
Most recently Taylor has been accepted to Pandora Radio for her single, Right Here, through the Genome Project and was selected by award-winning Grammy Producer, John Shanks, as Indi.com’s 2014 Musician of the Year. You can find her performing as an acoustic, stand-alone artist as easily with a trio or her full band. Performances include originals from her three EP’s and popular covers from yesterday and today. Taylor’s blend of talent and exceptionally-experienced musicians can fit any venue and crowd, whether it’s a high-energy mass or a more ambient atmosphere. Catch a live show and you’ll quickly become a fan.