India Ramey Album Debut at WorkPlay (April 13)

This Saturday at WorkPlay, Country/Americana singer India Ramey hits the stage to debut her new CD, Blood Crescent Moon. The album represents a new chapter in Ramey’s musical career, addressing observations on “relationships, anger, love, and survival.”

 On her first album, 2010’s Junkyard Angel, much of Ramey’s content focused on strong women rising above hardships. The title track depicts the speaker as “a little scarred, but a survivor after all.” “Don’t Tell Me (It Was Just the Whiskey)” addresses harmful relationships and “I Hope You’re Happy” comes from the point of view of a woman standing on her feet again. The album also offered a number of thoroughly upbeat toe tappers like “One More Shot of Whiskey” and “Red Headed Girl.” 

 Ramey displayed a “boots are made for walking” attitude on the first album, but now she’s added spurs. “This album is more intense and a little darker than the first,” she says. “The sound is what I have been trying to achieve for a while now.” The whole band fires off her new material with the heat of a woman scorned. With the debut of Blood Crescent Moon, Ramey intends to deliver “dark themes, intense, driving rhythms, wide vocal ranges, and some pretty badass slide guitar.”

 Since beginning her musical pursuit in 2010, Ramey has enjoyed instrumental support from a number of talented musicians. She is now accompanied by Will Cash, Nick Reccio, Eric Ominus, Elizabeth Simmons, and Leo McDermott. The instrumentation backing up Ramey’s confident voice for Blood is versatile, adapting to her writing whether it’s providing slide lines to the Southern-dramatic “Easy Come Easy Go,” or lending single-coil twang to the country-tailored “Get Behind Me Satan.”  

 Vocally, the album showcases Ramey’s skill as songs often demand control of a high range all throughout. Listening to slower tracks like the sarcastic “Too Good For Me” it’s easy to hear Ramey’s influences, particularly Emmylou Harris.  

 India Ramey’s debut show is at WorkPlay on Saturday, April 13. Josh Brown opens the evening. The show starts at 8 p.m. Tickets are $10.