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April Mae

“Hear my train a-comin’…” sings 1940s "victory roll" hairdo-sporting April Mae; the effervescent songstress, who serves as lead vocalist and washboard percussionist for April Mae & The June Bugs - and - April Mae's June Bug Brass Band.

About Me

Biography

April Mae & The June Bugs are rising stars in the East Coast music scene. With a string of impressive recent performances, including the Philadelphia Folk Festival and MusikFest, AM&TJB have been garnering recent press, dubbed the “The Breakout Surprise Act” on more than one occasion. January 2015 kicked off with a full page front cover feature story in the Courier Post. In 2014 they were featured in the Burlington County Times, AL.com, and a TV appearance on Time/Warner Cable.

“She’s doing stuff that nobody else is doing…with a flair for off-the-wall sound that’s really fresh right now,” says Lon Mickelson, blues promoter with Blues Women International. Mae’s song “Some Iz Good” released by the label, enjoyed placement on the Roots Radio / Blues Chart in 2013.

That year included the “Best Blues/Roots Release Nomination” from Blues411 Jimi Awards, and Big City Rhythm & Blues Magazine awarded female voice accolades to both April Mae, and Maria Muldaur.

Touring in a school bus that’s been converted to run on vegetable oil, they’ve performed with Pete Seeger, Imelda May, Cyril Neville, Gina Sicilia, and New Orleans’ Washboard Chaz among others.

2015 brings an intriguing pairing of the group with harmonica ace, vocalist, and songwriter Mike Mettalia; hailing from Midnight Shift (a touring band with three CD’s under their belt.) This configuration made their inaugural appearance at the Central Delaware Blues Society’s IBC Competition in October of 2014, where their rousing set was enthusiastically received.

AM&TJB’s third CD is scheduled for release in the Summer of 2015. Featuring an exciting new found collaboration with Mike Mettalia, who brings his electrifying harmonica and exceptional blues/boogie songwriting chops to the ensemble.

As an outlet for her love of New Orleans jazz April Mae conceived the June Bug Brass Band (sextet) founding and presiding over The Mardi Gras Ball, an annual event held the weekend before Mardi Gras.

After a live radio performance on WWOZ, The New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Station, DJ Hazel, The Delta Rambler observes, “They have a reverence for the old and a fresh new look to the future.... a lot of fun!”

[Content courtesy of Naila Francis; staff writer for the Intelligencer, Matt Wake writer for AL.com, Gail Boatman; correspondent for The Burlington County Times, and April Mae, © 2014.]

My Jazz Story

I love jazz because it soothes my soul and celebrates life. I was first exposed to jazz by my father, smoothly punctuating notes floating all over his electric guitar improvising, in total bliss. I met Frank Tiberi--my step-grandfather--and learned about Woody Herman, touring life, and how much I don't know about jazz. The best show I ever attended was Pete Seeger concerts and song circles, Mardi Gras Brass Bands parading through New Orleans, the Dempseys of Beale Street in Memphis, and there are more, so many more. The first jazz record I bought was by Ella Fitzgerald. My advice to new listeners: keep an open mind and don't be limited by or to the music of your generation or decade. Roots BABY Roots!