In Conversation With Colin: Joanne Shaw Taylor

Joanne Shaw Taylor was raised in the West Midlands, but has been based in America for many years and now splits her time between Nashville and Detroit. Joanne was initially discovered by Dave Stewart of the band Eurythmics at the young age of sixteen and has carved out an impressive niche for herself in the world of blues rock. Her prodigious talent on the guitar has won over fans from Joe Bonamassa and Stevie Wonder to Annie Lennox.

With her tenth album Black & Gold just released, Newport City Radio’s Colin Palmer settled down for a chat with Joanne for ‘The Rock Vault’ show.

“It’s crazy to think about it”, she tells me from her home in Nashville. “In one sense when you think back to your childhood it feels like yesterday and in another sense it feels like it was a different person and a different lifetime. But more than anything I’m just really proud of that young teenage girl that had a dream and wanted to live in America and be a blues guitarist and she was from Solihull and somehow made it happen and I’m very proud of her and very thankful to her.”

In 2010, Joanne won Best Female Vocalist at the British Blues Awards. She won the same award at the 2011 British Blues Awards, and the Songwriter of the Year award for ‘Same As It Never Was’, from her Diamonds in the Dirt album.

Joanne’s journey over the past two decades has seen her evolve into a prolific songwriter, with each of her albums being more successful than the last. Her 2019 album, Reckless Heart, broke into the UK Top 20 album chart, solidifying her standing as one of the most important
British blues-rock exports.

“I think that I would be a very different person if I had decided to stay in the UK” says Joanne. “I have been here in America for most of my adult life now, so in terms of being integrated into the blues scene here, which I wouldn’t say is stronger than over there in Europe, but it is bigger, given the size of the country.”

Her new album Black & Gold contains eleven tracks produced by Kevin Shirley (Aerosmith, Journey, Black Crowes, Iron Maiden) and sees the singer-songwriter laying down her trademark blues-rock riffs whilst pulling in influences from Americana, 70’s pop and indie rock.

“I’m such a mix as an artist” explains Joanne. “I’m a blues guitarist that’s a soul singer that likes writing pop songs, I can put out for example Who’s Gonna Love Me Now? as a single which is almost a Peter Gabriel-ish pop tune but then I can follow it up a month later with something more blues and rock based so it doesn’t leave me too long to worry that I’m suddenly going in a completely different direction.”

Joanne talks about some of the songs that are particularly emotionally personal to her and feature on the new album. “Some of them are very close to my heart. A good example is Who’s Gonna Love Me Now? I lost a very dear friend last year and was spending a lot of time with his widow, they had been together for at least fifty-odd years. So obviously living with her reminded me a lot of my own grief of losing my mum thirteen years ago and I talk about those early days of grief and how raw it was so I wanted to write a song for him and for her as a little tribute.

“My job at the end of the day is to make the listener feel something and that’s going to be easier if I’m feeling it myself, but that said it’s sometimes things that have happened to friends more in the past.”

Another major highpoint on the new album is the song ‘Grayer Shade Of Blue’ a lovely, chiming commentary on missing an old friend who inexplicably abandoned her, sung with melancholy honesty. The sweeping chorus is laced with violins, introducing some country inflections and making it one of her finest performances.

“This is a song that’s personal to me about a really dear friendship I had for about a decade and then suddenly they just stopped corresponding with me. I haven’t heard from them in five years and I don’t know why, so it’s a very personal song about how I didn’t get to understand why we
are no longer friends so I decided to give myself closure and unfortunately some people don’t give you closure and you have to take it for yourself. It’s a sad but sweet goodbye to an old friend.”

The song ‘Hell Of A Good Time’ features crunchy guitars with a sizzling riff that is as propulsive as you’d expect from a tune with that title. “This is just a really fun poppy blues riff and I think it’s a great summer tune, so hopefully people will get as much out of it as I have recording it.”

Her song `Look What I’ve Become’ showcases Joanne’s rockier side with elements of early 70’s hard rock coming through in the riff styles. It’s a haunting reflection on addiction, isolation, and the moment of choosing whether to fight or let go. “This is actually a flamenco piece that I wrote some years ago and struggled to find how to continue writing it and I took it to Kevin and with him being brilliant decided to slow it down and make it a dark minor key blues. It’s a tribute to some friends that I’ve had that have struggled with addiction issues and so it’s a tribute to anyone that has suffered the terrible disease and had the strength and the bravery to address those issues.” 

‘My bones have grown so old, the world is only cold,’ she sings over gritty, shadow-drenched guitar tones, capturing a soul in reckoning. With a voice both weary and defiant, she lifts the veil and delivers the devastating punch line: ‘Don’t miss me when I’m gone / I’m nothing now but numb.’

Joanne Shaw Taylor’s song-writing ability continues to grow not just musically but also with the subject matter being sung about. The production on this album makes it a joy to listen to as there’s a perfect balance between instruments and vocals. Joanne hasn’t played it safe by staying in one style of music, but by encompassing many genres she has not only proved her ability to write in different ways but also to appeal to a wider audience than ever before. Her continued
collaboration with producer Kevin Shirley keep the fires burning, pushing the boundaries of blues rock with raw vulnerability, sweeping cinematic textures, and moments of explosive swagger.

“We are such good friends, we love and respect each other and I want him to be successful and so having that level of trust when you are handing over these songs I know they are in safe hands and we work well together and I know he’ll do a great job. He’s one of my closest friends which is part of why it works because he knows who the songs are written about. He met my mom and family friends and I know his wife and kids, they often swing by the studio.”

Excerpts of this interview were broadcast on ‘The Rock Vault’ June 10 th 2025

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