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Mya Byrne

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Mya Byrne
Birth nameJeremiah Birnbaum
Born (1978-03-01) March 1, 1978 (age 46)
OriginMaplewood, Nj., U.S.
Genresfolk, americana
Occupation(s)Singer, songwriter
Years active2003–present
WebsiteMyaByrne.com, JeremiahBirnbaum.com

Mya Byrne (previously Jeremiah Birnbaum)[1] is an American singer/songwriter falling mostly in the Americana vein; in press her music has also been described as a combination of folk, blues and country. Byrne resides in New York and is often seen performing solo or with various bands, including tours with fellow songwriters Kara Kulpa, Shelley Miller,[2] and Bethel Steele.[3] In 2014, Mya publicly announced her transgender status and transition [4] and has continued to work as a musician and performer.

Early Life and Music

Byrne, born 1 March 1978 in Boston, moved to Maplewood, New Jersey in 1983. taking up guitar at age ten and started writing her own songs at seventeen, in 1995. In 1999, she moved to Boston to study audio engineering at Berklee College of Music. In 2001, Byrne moved to London where she worked in a recording studio and studied musicology at City University, London. Birnbaum relocated to New York City and attended the New School. She graduated in 2003 having studied literature and western philosophy.

Career

In 2004, Byrne independently released her debut EP, Dawn. She was a pre-finalist for the new song competition at the 2004 Newport Folk Festival, and was the recipient of a PLUS Award from ASCAP in 2004, 2005, 2010, 2012, 2013, and 2014.[5]

From 2004-2009 Byrne opened for such acts as Steve Forbert, Railroad Earth, Jack Hardy, Greensky Bluegrass, and Suzanne Vega. She was the longtime host of a popular weekly open mike at Micky's Blue Room and later Banjo Jim's in Alphabet City and was the lead guitarist in the Late Night band at Rockwood Music Hall from 2007-2009, performing weekly for most of its 18-month residency.[6] She released her first full-length album with The Ramblers in June 2008, recorded with David Immergluck of Counting Crows on additional lead guitar.[7] In 2008, The Ramblers were the opening act for Levon Helm of The Band, at the Midnight Ramble in Woodstock, New York in June, and again at the Woodstock Playhouse that September.[8]

In April 2010, The Ramblers released their second CD at Joe's Pub.[9] In September 2010, Byrne played lead guitar with Kent Burnside, grandson of R.L. Burnside, at Buddy Guy's Legends in Chicago. The Ramblers also headlined Mercury Lounge that month.[10] In October 2010, The Ramblers showcased at the CMJ Music Marathon in New York City, where they were noted as "Artists To Watch" by The Jazz Lawyer blog. [11]

In July 2011, The Ramblers opened for Heartless Bastards at Mercury Lounge. Later that summer they appeared at the Great South Bay and Port Jefferson Music Festivals.[12] In January 2012, Byrne was the co-director for the Beatles Complete on Ukelele Festival at Brooklyn Bowl, alongside festival founder, producer Roger Greenawalt, as well as that March at South By Southwest. [13] In 2012 Byrne became endorsed by D'Addario Strings.[14] In February of that year, Byrne suffered a vocal hemorrhage. By August she had recovered enough to begin touring again behind her first solo acoustic record, Lucky (as Jeremiah Birnbaum), and subsequently appeared as a feature artist on John Platt's show on WFUV. [15] The album reached #31 on the Roots Music Report charts for NY-based artists by January 2013.[16]

In 2014, Byrne was named by NJ alternative music Aquarian Weekly's as one of the 30 most promising acts of 2014 [17], was chosen to compete in the WNYC "Battle of the Boroughs" [18], and to perform at the prestigious Northeast Regional Folk Alliance conference held in Chatham, New Jersey.[19]. Sheappeared in a SingOut magazine / WFDU-FM radio interview regarding her experiences as a transwoman musician[20], and her poetry was featured in the Advocate.[21]

She plays guitar and sings for the music duo Burnboom with Maddy Boom.[22]

References

  1. ^ WFDU-FM's Traditions hosted by Ron Olesko, June 15, 2014
  2. ^ Illinois Times, August 23, 2012
  3. ^ Lancaster Online, May 2014
  4. ^ Mya Byrne blog: "Coming out and challenging unfair laws" May, 2014
  5. ^ citation required: the Newport and ASCAP Plus awards
  6. ^ citation required: this whole 2004-2008 period
  7. ^ Long Island Pulse magazine, July 14, 2011
  8. ^ Glide Magazine, "Four Under the Radar Bands", January 21, 2009
  9. ^ Patch.com website April 14, 2010
  10. ^ Pop Tarts Suck Toasted
  11. ^ The Jazz Lawyer: "CMJ 2010 Artists To Watch" October 29, 2010
  12. ^ citation required: Ramblers 2011 appearances
  13. ^ citation required: Brooklyn Bowl and SxSW
  14. ^ D'Addario website
  15. ^ Gothamjazz website, December 11, 2012
  16. ^ citation required: #31 on 01/2013 Roots Music Reports
  17. ^ Aquarian "Must See Bands for 2014", January 22, 2014
  18. ^ The Greene Space: "Battle of the Boroughs" February 7, 2014
  19. ^ Northeast Regional Folk Alliance
  20. ^ SingOut Magazine, June 16, 2014
  21. ^ The Advocate, "New Trans Voices", July 5, 2014
  22. ^ citation required: Burnboom/Maddy Boom

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