From his early days playing cover music behind chicken wire at a west side Jacksonville juke joint while still working at a lumberyard, to playing sold-out shows at some of the largest venues and music festivals in the world, JJ Grey has always delivered his soul-honest truths. Since his first album, ‘Blackwater’, back in 2001, Grey has been releasing deeply moving, masterfully written, funkified rock and front porch Southern soul music.
Now, with ‘Olustee’ – his tenth album and first in eight years, and the first he has self-produced – Grey is back, singing his personal stories with universal themes of redemption, rebirth, hard luck, and inner peace. With his music, Grey also celebrates good times with friends, oftentimes mixing the carnal with the cerebral in the very same song. Fueled by his vividly detailed, timeless original songs spun from his life experiences, Grey’s gritty baritone drips with honest passion and testifies with a preacher’s foot-pounding fervor.
With ‘Olustee’, JJ Grey has once again pushed the boundaries of his own creative musical, lyrical and vocal talents, delivering an instant classic. Many of the songs are steeped in the mythical Southern stories of his ancestral Florida home and filled with people from JJ’s life. The songs are told through the eyes of a poet and sung with pure, unvarnished soul. Grey’s message is simple and strong – respect the natural world and always try to live in the moment. And never forget the importance of having a good time!
Visit Virginia's Blue Ridge 101 Shenandoah Avenue NE Roanoke, VA 24016 (540) 342-6025 (800) 635-5535
Visit Virginia’s Blue Ridge is committed to cultivating an atmosphere that welcomes and celebrates the unique backgrounds, abilities, passions, and perspectives of our vibrant community. As our region’s only destination marketing organization, we have a responsibility to showcase the best the Roanoke Region has to offer, and those assets and strengths come in varied forms. We embrace differences in race, religion, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity or expression, language, visible and invisible disabilities, and all the intersecting identities that make Virginians and visitors alike so unique. We believe our differences make us stronger– and better.
