Dianne Durrett

Internationally recognized as a singer/songwriter and producer, Diane Durrett is always rocking the house with her distinctive vibrato, she can belt gut-bucket blues with the best of them. She proves it, again on her upcoming 10th American Roots release “Sweet Georgia Blues”. Durrett’s velvet voice also shines through on feel-good singles ‘The Sweet Spot’ and ‘Chasing Sunsets’. Every song on the album has a story and an authentic meaning, recorded with her band Soul Suga’, drummer Melissa Junebug, Keyboardist Yoel Yehuda and bassist Fuji Fujimoto. Special guest appearances by Georgia artists, including Tinsley Ellis, Eddie 9 Volt, Joey ‘Papa J Sez’ Sommerville and Mike Mattison as well as New Orleans GRAMMY award winning Trombonist Craig Klein contribute to the soulful blend of the album. Setting the rhythm at the top is a tribute to their bandmate, the late Yonrico Scott, inspired by his life called ‘Child of the Blues’. As the album closes with gospel overtones, Durrett reflects on how singing at church on Peachtree Street began her musical journey. “Having grown up here, in the heart of the south, I know Georgia’s music beats with soulful rhythm and heartfelt emotion. As a producer and artist, I wanted to capture that feeling.” The Georgia music community holds profound significance for Durrett, exemplified by her recent election as President of the Recording Academy Atlanta chapter, best known for the GRAMMYs. She has served on the board for eight years in leadership roles as well as hosting and producing a two-part series for the Producer & Engineer Wing called "In the Mix Studio PROS: Ladies Leading the Way”. Nationally, Durrett joined music leaders as an advocate for creators rights meeting with Senators for GRAMMYS On The Hill in Washington, DC. In time their efforts resulted in the passing of the Music Modernization Act. Durrett’s 2022 album “Put A Lid On It” soared to #2 on the Soul Blues International Roots Music Report. Critics reported, “Flirts with perfection, while remaining full of feeling and spontaneity”. In 2019 her album ‘Diane Durrett & Soul Suga LIVE’ was reviewed as “Killer, high octane soul throughout" and rose to #5. In 2017 Durrett and Melissa Junebug were recipients of two Global Peace Song Awards. Durrett was the winner of the 2015 ‘Peoples Choice Award’ by Atlanta Blues Society, as well as awarded the ‘Best Self-Produced Album’ for “Soul Suga’ & Diane Durrett which charted in the Top 10 of the RMR Contemporary Blues chart. In 2023 she was awarded an honorary lifetime membership by Atlanta Blues Society for her music and work with the highly successful Women in the Blues event. With a blend of raw soulful vocals, sultry tones, and strong original songs Durrett has sung with Sting, Gregg Allman, Indigo Girls, and Chuck Leavell (Rolling Stones). Durrett has opened shows for Tina Turner, KoKo Taylor, Delbert McClinton, and Derek Trucks. As well as lending her vocals to recording sessions for GRAMMY award winning producer Brendan O’Brien and Kristian Bush (Sugarland). Her song catalog includes co-writes with William Bell, Jerry Ragovoy, Oliver Wood, Emily Sailers and Bonnie Bramlett. Durrett has long reflected the musical passions that inspired her while growing up in Atlanta, Georgia. From her energy-driven breakthrough debut ‘50,000 Volts of Soul’ (1993) to her superbly executed ‘Rhythm of Life’ (1998) to her acoustic soul ‘CHILL’ (2004), to the LIVE, ‘Georgia On the Groove’ (2007), the groovy ‘Blame It On My DNA’ (2009) produced by Ike Stubblefield to her holiday album ‘Georgia Christmas’ (2012) to her release where she joined forces with drummers Yonrico Scott and Melissa Junebug on ‘Soul Suga’’ (2015) to her soulful remake of ‘The Rose’ (2017) co-produced with Thom 'T.K.' Kidd to her electrifying LIVE album recorded at Eddie’s Attic ‘Diane Durrett & Soul Suga’ (2018) to her holiday single ‘Another Ride Around the Sun’ (2019) to chart topping (2021) ‘Put A Lid On It’ to her latest album “Sweet Georgia Blues”. What music critics are writing; “Funky and Feisty… A Joyous celebration of the power of music” “Flirts with perfection while remaining full of feeling and spontaneity” “Her hip rhythmic drive and upbeat atmosphere make for a congregation full of magical wonder” Here’s what audiences are saying; “The concert was amazing!” “We had a blast!! The show was so great and engaging!!!” “It was an amazing show! One of the best ever!!! Thank ya’ll for the great therapy! “Love that voice”