Amelia Presley
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bio
Amelia presley is an americana singer-songwriter now based in texas. Born in mobile, alabama and raised just over the state line in mississippi, amelia grew up in the small gulf coast community of franklin creek, where many finnish immigrants like her grandmother’s family settled. South mississippi inspires a melting pot of musical sounds from blues to country and rock, but amelia attributes her unique style to her father, jimmy presley, who she remembers singing clever lyrics he wrote during her childhood. She claims her soulful voice is a female version of his. From the time she could speak, she wanted to be a singer like her father.
Amelia presley’s voice is emotional and powerful. Her music combines the southern rock grit and twang that she learned from her father with a bluesy growl that can only come from pain acquired with a hard life. Amelia’s lyrics are complex, and leave room for the imagination. Those with similar life experiences find it easier to decode the messages in her songs. This has given her the opportunity to connect with other survivors and ‘imperfect’ people like herself.
In high school, amelia presley became a teenage mother, and dropped out of school as a result. She quickly learned that attaining a career in music would require financial investment greater than what she could save from the dead end jobs she worked at the time. So, she jumped through the metaphorical hurdles of acquiring the waivers she needed to join the military as an unwed mother without a high school diploma. In 2010, on her father’s birthday, amelia enlisted in the united states coast guard as a way to afford the studio fees associated with recording her debut lp, no pony ride, which was named in reference to the horse she sold to pay off the remaining studio balance. She served five years as a machinery technician before being processed for discharge as a result of a brain injury she had tried to hide from her first year of enlistment. In 2015, after requesting that her commanding officer speed up her unwanted, yet looming military discharge, amelia embarked on the first tour of her music career. She moved to nashville, tennessee briefly before returning home to mississippi for the arrival of her second child. Following the birth of her daughter in 2016, amelia released singles including get lucky which was featured on itunes new artist spotlight and itunes hot tracks under the country music genre, as well as her single, hard headed mama. In 2017, amelia was asked to move to texas to join an all-female band created by an investor who insisted that he owned the four women. As a result, amelia and another member of the band, kk bodiford, left the group to form the country duo, highway sisters. The duo performed at the grand ole opry in nashville, tennessee as well as venues, festivals and radio stations all over the united states.
In 2020, the covid-19 pandemic halted all touring for the highway sisters, and amelia began touring and releasing music as a solo artist again. She released empty case, and re-released get lucky before publicly proclaiming a long-buried secret from her childhood with the song, harm nobody else. Amelia used the song as a way to heal from childhood abuse she suffered from the ages of 3 to 16 at the hands of her adopted mother. American songwriter described the song as “a bluesy and soulful sound armed with extraordinarily detailed lyrics sharpened for accuracy, make no mistake this is the sound of a phoenix rising, breaking its chains and shedding its shackles along the way.” harm nobody else was played on radio stations worldwide. Ben ryan from 95.9fm the ranch in fort worth, texas noted that “the first time [he] played harm nobody else on radio, people were calling and texting [him] asking ‘who is this and where can I find this song?’” amelia self-filmed the music video for harm nobody else featuring her then three year old daughter in the house where the abuse took place, and embarked on a cathartic acoustic tour soon after where she slept in her truck bed in places like the beautiful organ mountains in las cruces, new mexico.
After taking some time off following harm nobody else, amelia presley is thrilled to announce the release of her second studio ep, coyote howl, available everywhere on july 6, 2023. "This ep is all about acceptance of myself after a short hiatus following the release of my most personal song written to date, harm nobody else. I needed to regroup after talking publicly about very personal details surrounding that single. Healing looks different for everyone. Discovering a more healed version of myself was part of the journey, and coyote howl is the page I'm on now”, said amelia. The ep includes the single, sinner’s den which was written about the relationship between an artist and the music industry. Amelia paints the picture of that relationship as a torrid love affair in which the artist continually falls for the toxic relationship. Amelia presley, like many artists, is no stranger to the tumultuous rollercoaster ride that is the music industry. She continues because “[she] has to”. Sinner’s den will be released on may 25th, 2023 through edgewater music group. The music video for sinner’s den will be released later in june. It will feature taylor long, who played lead guitar on her studio recording of harm nobody else, along with his wife, daryin long. Amelia presley hopes to inspire hope to other artists and creators to keep pushing forward for what they feel they were born to do despite adversity while being unapologetically true to themselves.