Shy Perry

ABBEVILLE • When Abbeville musician Shy Perry received her Josie Award Saturday, she accepted it as an honor for her family.

Perry won R&B/Soul Artist of the Year at the 2019 Josie Music Awards ceremony in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. The Josie Awards recognize people and bands in various genres who produce music independent of commercial recording companies.

“It feels like I’m still on cloud nine and I’ll be residing there for a few days,” Perry said the day after her win. “I’m extremely happy and feel very grateful.”

The singer, keyboardist and songwriter from Lafayette County was up for three Josie Awards, including R&B/Soul Vocalist of the Year and Female Album of the Year for “Brand New Day,” her third solo release that came out last year.

Prospective nominees submit their works into the competition, and the nominees and eventual winners are selected by a team of music industry leaders.

“To have three nominations is amazing for me, an absolute honor,” said Perry in a Daily Journal interview earlier this month. “It was over 22,000 people who applied for different categories. You have to put in for whatever category you want to be nominated for and you have to have a little of history behind it.”

Perry began performing professionally as a teenager with her family band, The Perrys. The group included Shy’s father, Mississippi bluesman Bill Howl-N-Madd Perry, on guitar and brother Bill Perry Jr. on piano.

Both father and son played on Shy’s award-nominated album, which received airplay in the U.S. and Europe and reached No. 30 on the Independent Blues Broadcasters Association chart. Her music can be heard on her website, sharoperry.com, as well as her Bandcamp and Reverb Nation web pages.

Perry has played venues around the world with her father, and this summer they toured the U.S. to support her album. She considers her music “the Great Grandchild of the Blues.”

Perry shares the award with her father, brother and mother, Pauline Perry.

“My mom was extremely happy, and she was able to attend the awards with me and walked with me to the stage,” she said. “My dad is very proud and told me he already knew I would win. Mom, too. My brother is proud of me and said it was inspiring. That makes me feel very happy.”

Leah Rose Duncan, a country music singer/songwriter from Monroe County, was nominated in three categories: Female Rising Star Vocalist of the Year, Video of the Year and Song of the Year.

The Josie Music Awards were created in 2015 by the mother-and-daughter team of Tinamarie and Josie Passantino, who own and manage a network of media and business brands.

“I’m also grateful to Josie and her mom, Tinamarie, for honoring independent artists,” Perry said. “They’re amazing people.” -

ABBEVILLE • To be an independent music artist, Lafayette County’s Shy Perry says you must perform a lot of roles.

Musician, singer, songwriter, arranger, record producer, booking agent, public relations manager, social media contact, roadie ... even as a driver to your own gigs.

“It means that you have to work your butt off in doing your own thing,” she said.

Doing her own thing has earned Perry recognition for her music. The keyboardist and songwriter from Abbeville has been nominated for three 2019 Josie Music Awards, which honors independent music artists as well as other categories such as photography, video production and management.

Perry is up for two individual honors in the R&B/Soul category: Artist of the Year and Vocalist of the Year. She is one of four nominees in each category.

Her third solo album, “Brand New Day,” is up for Female Album of the Year. The album, which creates a modern sound of blues music, is going against 14 other entrants from a wide range of music genres.

The fifth annual Josie Music Awards will be presented Sept. 21 at the Dollywood Theme Park in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee.

“To have three nominations is amazing for me, an absolute honor,” said Perry, 42. “It was over 22,000 people who applied for different categories. You have to put in for whatever category you want to be nominated for and you have to have a little of history behind it.”

Perry’s history has been shaped by her musical family.

She began performing professionally as a teenager with her family band, The Perrys. The group included Shy’s legendary father, Mississippi bluesman Bill Howl-N-Madd Perry, on guitar and brother Bill Perry Jr. on piano.

Both father and son played on Shy’s award-nominated album, which received airplay in the U.S. and Europe and reached No. 30 on the Independent Blues Broadcasters Association chart. You can hear album cuts and download them from Perry’s Bandcamp and Reverb Nation web pages, as well as her website, sharoperry.com.

Perry has played venues around the world with her father, and this summer they toured the U.S. to support her album. She considers her music “the Great Grandchild of the Blues.”

“It’s both of us out here doing our thing,” she said, “but when it comes to the awards, this is me out here. I think I have my history, and the album had a lot to do with helping me get this nomination.”

While her solo work is drawing praise, Perry still enjoys being on stage with her father.

“He’s my dad, so I’ll always perform with him,” she said. “Eventually, I’m going to have my own thing and my own band, and he’ll do his thing. But we’re family and we’ll always come back together. At this point, we’re working as partners.”

Perry is excited to attend the award ceremony and hopes to come home a winner. She was nominated for a Josie Award in 2015.

“We’re going to Dollywood,” she said. “We’re going to have a whole weekend of events hanging out in Dollywood.”

The list of 2019 Josie Award nominees can be found online at www.josiemusicawards.com. -

Sharo "Shy" Perry of Abbeville is the recipient of the 2019 Josie Music Award for R&B Artist of the Year. The Josie Music Awards recognizes independent artists in multiple genres. Nominees and winners are selected by a team of industry professionals.
"I was ecstatic," Perry said. "And extremely happy. I felt like I could do cartwheels to the stage. I'm still feeling butterflies from it. I gave (the award) to my parents, and I plan on winning more. -