Janiva Magness

Janiva Magness (born January 30, 1957) nominated blues, soul, and Americana singer, songwriter, and author. To date she has released 16 albums. The award was presented by B.B. King himself and Bonnie Raitt. In 2014 she released her second album of all originals entitled Original which earned her the award for Song of the Year. Magness has earned seven Blues Music Awards with 29 similar nominations. USA Today stated, "Magness is a blues star."

In 2019, Magness published her memoir "Weeds Like Us" and the audiobook version was released in 2022. "We get to relive her career with her, as she discovers her own talents, right up to her work with the great Dave Darling over the past decade. It's a ride that is both thrilling and heartbreaking. But the spoiler is, we know how it ends, because we know that Magness is still producing incredible music. And she's still a badass." – LA Weekly's Book of the Month, Brett Callwood. "When you're singing "The Blues," credibility is essential. You can talk the talk, but if you didn't walk the walk, people can tell. Janiva Magness has been singing the blues professionally for decades, but don't think for a minute that she didn't get to where she is now without having a struggle with hard times. And where she is now, it's a very good place: a highly regarded, award-winning singer and musician with an international following and a cache of critically well-received albums." – The Recoup, Joseph Kyle

Life and career Magness was born in Detroit, Michigan. She lost both parents to suicide before she reached her mid-teens,

Having been initially inspired by the music in her father's record collection, an underage Magness attended an Otis Rush concert in Minneapolis that changed her outlook. Her work, which included backing Kid Ramos and R. L. Burnside, Her first album, More Than Live, was released in 1991; her second release, titled It Takes One to Know One, was released in 1997.

Three independent releases followed before Magness was signed to a recording contract by NorthernBlues Music. They released Bury Him at the Crossroads (2004) and Do I Move You? (2006). saying, "I've had an entire career up to this point of being an interpreter of other people’s songs. And I’ve been fine with that. But it became necessary to change that thinking. This record is titled Original because its eleven original tracks. I’m co-writer on seven of the eleven tracks."

Magness won her seventh BMA, the 'Contemporary Blues Female Artist' category, at the 2015 Blues Music Awards ceremony. In 2016, she signed to Blue Elan Records which is also the home to Jack Tempchin, Gerry Buckley, and Rusty Baker. Her 2016 album, Love Wins Again, debuted at number 5 on the Billboard Blues Chart, number 2 on iTunes Blues, reached number 1 on the Blues radio chart, made Living Blues Radio at number 2, and spent two months on the Americana radio chart, and earned her first Grammy Award nomination.

In the years 2016, 2018, and 2019 she performed at the Americana Music Conference and Festival in Nashville, to further cement her cross-over into the genre.

Festivals Magness has performed at various music festivals in the U.S. and Europe, including Notodden Blues Festival (in 2007 and 2008), at Memphis in May (in 2006 and 2010), and Byron Bay Bluesfest (2016). She performed at Mahindra Blues Festival, in Mumbai, India, in 2017.

Personal life Magness is a national spokesperson for Casey Family Programs, promoting National Foster Care Month,