Joanne Shaw Taylor

Joanne Shaw Taylor
Joanne Shaw Taylor on the New Generation of British Blues Tour, May 2010
Background information
Born	1986 (age 30–31) England
Genres	Blues rock
Occupation(s)	Guitarist, singer
Instruments	Guitar
Years active	2002–present
Labels	Ruf, Axehouse
Website	Official website
Notable instruments
Fender Esquire & Gibson Guitar

Joanne Shaw Taylor (born 1986, England) is a British blues rock guitarist and singer, who was discovered by Dave Stewart of the Eurythmics at the age of 16.

The British music publication, Blues Matters!, called Taylor "the new face of the blues".

Taylor grew up in Wednesbury in the Black Country, England, and was inspired in her early teens to play the blues after hearing Stevie Ray Vaughan, Albert Collins and Jimi Hendrix. Dave Stewart heard Taylor play, and in 2002 invited her to join his supergroup, D.U.P., on tour in Europe.

In May 2009, Taylor released her debut album, White Sugar, on Ruf Records. Taylor's second release was 2010's Diamonds in the Dirt, also on Ruf Records. Both her albums peaked at number eight in the US Billboard Top Blues Albums chart. In 2010, she won Best Female Vocalist at the British Blues Awards. She won the same award at the 2011 British Blues Awards, plus the Songwriter of the Year award for "Same As It Never Was" from Diamonds in the Dirt.

On 4 June 2012, Taylor played lead guitar in Annie Lennox's band at the Diamond Jubilee Concert in London. Taylor played an extended solo during the performance in front of Buckingham Palace, attended by approximately 12,000 people (not counting the many thousands lining The Mall). Just before her solo spot, Taylor's Fuzz Face pedal malfunctioned, leaving a much cleaner guitar sound than usual. This apparent misfortune was ameliorated, however, when she was informed that Stevie Wonder had loved her "clean, bluesy, understated tone".