When Amy Barlow was 5, she stood up at her mom’s party and held her own with some heavy-hitting jazz musicians. She hasn’t shut up since. Lying about her age to get into clubs in her native Binghamton, NY, she hit the ground running singing standards, backed by older mentors. Later, she began writing her own touching, quirky music in the key of fun.

She sang backup on Rickie Lee Jones’ first national tour (including Carnegie Hall) and played NYC’s Caroline’s Comedy Club (opening for Leno, Seinfeld, and PeeWee Herman), The Angry Squire, and other venues. Although she’s a straight woman, she has sung at **** clubs for years (“so much fun, so relaxed… plus, **** guys and lesbians are the only audiences who ever gave me a hand lugging my equipment!”)

During her LA years, Amy was a fixture at the legendary Great American Food & Beverage Company in Santa Monica, which featured Joe Turano, Patti Davis, and Katie Sagal. In 2001, Amy and her family settled in Buffalo, NY, where she continues to perform - although her daughter, Riley Dunn, escaped to LA, where she plays drums for the band SleepTowel while she works on her art degree.

Besides donning a little black dress and performing in the 10-years-and-still-running hit, “DIVA by DIVA” (which features her song, “My Little Black Dress Is Just A Little Too Little”), Amy was nominated for an ArtVoice “Artie” as a co-writer of “Buffalo Zings,” a satirical political revue. Her off-kilter sense of humor has led to songs such as, “My Heart Has Never Been So Broken (But My Bathroom’s Never Been So Clean)” and a tongue-in-cheek song about stripper envy, “The Caravan Lounge,” featured on her current CD, “Jazz Baby Hits Her Stride.”

Amy, whose full name is Amy Barlow Liberatore, is also a pastor's wife (“Lex calls me the Hannah Montana of church - rhinestones on Saturday night; pearls on Sunday morning.”). Her mother used to sing jazz on Saturday nights and get up early Sunday morning to direct the church choir! Amy is working on an album of original gospel tunes and has a song published in the upcoming United Church of Christ Praise and Worship songbook, publising under the ABL moniker.

Amy has been privileged to perform with the Buffalo **** Men’s Chorus at fundraisers and considers BGMC one of the premier organizations of its kind. She and her husband Lex are both LGBT activists who were invited to help form “Outside/IN,” a ****/straight alliance at Pilgrim-St. Luke’s UCC in Buffalo.

Singer, pianist, songwriter - jazz, blues, gospel. A woman who has been an LGBT activist since the early 80s (listen to “The Day I Saw An Angel Fly” and you will understand the depth of the loss), a peace and justice activist since the 60s. Amy Barlow will show you the power that emanates from a little streak of grey and a lot of guts.

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