Michelle Willis

Michelle Willis Bio

Prior to launching a solo career, British-born, Canadian-raised singer/songwriter Michelle Willis amassed an impressive résumé through a variety of collaborations and work as a session keyboardist and background singer. She graduated from Toronto's Humber College jazz program, and began performing weekly residencies at piano bars across the city. It wasn't long before she had expanded beyond the city's limits to become a hired gun for a variety of different acts like David Crosby, Becca Stevens, Laura Mvula, Snarky Puppy, Parachute Club and Zac Brown Band.

She came from a family of "let's sing that James Taylor song again" kind of people at holidays. Her music is inspired by years spent lifting Carole King and Ray Charles records, singing in choirs and finding a home in the songwriting and artistry of musicians like Joni Mitchell, Shawn Colvin, Bonnie Raitt and Donny Hathaway.

Her debut solo record, See Us Through, was released on GroundUP Music. She has since toured the record across Europe, Scandinavia, USA, Canada, Japan, Taiwan, New Zealand, Australia, and Singapore. Aside from leading her own band, Michelle is currently a member of both of David Crosby's ‘Sky Trails' and 'Lighthouse' bands, and the Becca Stevens Band.

Music

May 13, 2016

See Us Through (2016)

"See Us Through was written over the course of six years. Each song deals with attempting to get to the other side of whatever I was in. Often that meant making a decision or speaking up, or just holding tight and not being afraid to stay the course. Each of these things required an action I was often afraid to make. These songs were my encouragement to myself, an extra tug to keep trying, to aim for it. The music was never written with an album in mind, but when it all came together as one project the pieces all seemed to fit. Sonically, it features warm, dark and rich tones from the band, primarily made up of Thom Gill (guitar), Hugh Marsh (violin), Charles James (bass), and Phil Melanson (drums), with many featured guests and singers. It’s almost a jazz, soul, and hymn-like approach to the songwriting structure, with a heavy dose of lead and background vocals intertwined throughout, because… why not more vocals?" - Michelle Willis

1 Home

2 It'll Rain Today

3 Battlefield (A Letter To You)

4 See Us Through

5 Persimmon

6 Trust Me

7 Waking Morning

8 Solitude

Videos

It'll Rain Today

HOME

See Us Through (Live)

More Artists

House Of Waters

“In today's world, there are no musical boundaries,” says Max ZT of ‘House of Waters,’ a trio that makes those words come alive as they incorporate elements of West-African, jazz, psychedelic, indie rock, classical and world music into their astonishingly unique...

Breastfist

Breastfist is Bill Campbell’s weird baby. The baby was originally conceived during a conversation in 2007 where Alan Hampton (bass) and Bill (drum) were laughing about how often bandleaders would say stuff like “don’t play a groove” or “don’t make it too fun...

Charlie Hunter

With a career spanning 16 years and almost 20 albums, Hunter consistently ups his game as an innovative writer and bandleader. He has worked with the likes of Norah Jones , Mos Def , John Mayer , D’Angelo and countless others. He is widely considered the authority on ...