Marley Munroe

Career Early career Marley Munroe was raised in Farmington, New Mexico by a religious family and was encouraged by her parents to sing from a young age, first performing the national anthem at local basketball games and in church. By 12, she signed with a Christian record label based in Nashville, which resulted in work with the rap and rock trio DC Talk. This contract was in place until Munroe was aged 18 in around 2003, but she had realised by 16 that she did not identify fully with the Christian music world and decided to leave at the contract's end. Munroe then became an independent musician, touring with DC Talk's TobyMac and appearing on his first four solo albums, and doing sessions in New York City and Los Angeles. This included collaborations with notable artists such as Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, Sam Watters, Tricky Stewart and Louis Biancaniello.

"Blackbird" was released in May 2020 as Munroe's debut single under the Lady Blackbird moniker, bringing her to mainstream critical attention. Despite having been recorded a year earlier, its release coincided with the Black Lives Matter movement in the aftermath of the murder of George Floyd, bringing a sombre contemporary context to the song about Black womanhood. The album bears a strong jazz influence and emphasis on pared-back vocals, with a number of covers and reinterpretations of songs from the 1960s and 70s. These include "Collage" by The James Gang, "It'll Never Happen Again" by Tim Hardin, and "Wanted Dead or Alive" by The Voices of East Harlem. The title was coined by Seefried as a made-up sub-genre, and is also the name of the final track. A two-disc deluxe edition, containing five bonus tracks and some remixes, was released in October 2022. The singles "Feel It Comin" and "Woman" peaked at number 39 and 35, respectively, on the Official UK Top 40.

Following the album's release, Munroe performed on a number of television shows, including The Graham Norton Show, The Jonathan Ross Show, and Radio 2's Piano Room, as well as at numerous jazz festivals and supporting Gregory Porter on tour.

2023–present: Second album Munroe has said her planned second album is "shaping up to be about women's empowerment".

Lady Blackbird released her second album, Slang Spirituals on September 2024.

In October 2024 Lady Blackbird sang on the UK's Strictly Come Dancing: The Results.

Awards and nominations At the Jazz FM Awards, Lady Blackbird won 2022 International Jazz Act of the Year, having been nominated alongside trumpeter Theo Croker and New Orleans musician Trombone Shorty, whom Seefried has also produced.

Discography Albums

EPs

+List of promotional singles by Lady Blackbird YearTitleAlbum2024 "Man on a Boat"Slang Spirituals

+List of featured singles by Lady Blackbird YearTitleAlbum2017 "Fantasy"(HouseMechanix Marley Munroe) 2020 "Can't Stand It"(Supernova feat. Marley Munroe)2021 "Pitch Black"(Sencit feat. Lady Blackbird)Deathloop soundtrack2022 "Don't Wanna Be Normal"(Athletes of God feat. Lady Blackbird) 2023 "Fontella"(Athletes of God × MSW feat. Lady Blackbird) "Walk with Me"(Moby & Lady Blackbird)Resound NYC "Sunlight"(Subjective feat. Lady Blackbird)The Start of No Regret "Slave to the Rhythm"(Trevor Horn feat. Lady Blackbird)Echoes: Ancient & Modern