Sue Foley

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Sue Foley
Sue Foley Live 2024
Background information
Born	(1968-03-29) March 29, 1968 (age 58)
Origin	Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Genre	Blues
Occupations	Musician, singer
Instrument	Guitar
Labels	Warner Music Canada Koch New West Antone's Shanachie Ruf Blind Pig
Website	Suefoley.com

Sue Foley (born March 29, 1968) is a Canadian blues guitarist and singer/songwriter known for her Texas blues style and acoustic touch. A five-time Blues Music Award winner for Traditional Blues Female, and a Juno recipient, she has shared the stage with musicians including B.B. King and Buddy Guy. In 2024 she released One Guitar Woman: A Tribute to The Female Pioneers of Guitar which earned a 2025 Grammy Award nomination for Best Traditional Blues Album. Foley also holds a PhD in Musicology, and is the author of the forthcoming book Guitar Women, exploring the lives and legacies of trailblazing female guitarists.

Early life

Foley was born in Ottawa, Ontario, and spent her early childhood in Canada. She learned to play guitar at age 13, became interested in blues music from listening to the Rolling Stones, and played her first gig at age 16. While still in high school, she played guitar with Back Alley John in the Ottawa area and together they recorded a single as The Blue Lights. After high school graduation, she relocated to Vancouver where she formed the Sue Foley Band and toured Canada.

Career

In 1988–1989, the Sue Foley Band teamed with Mark Hummel to tour across the United States, Canada, and Europe as well as recording an album. The collaboration lasted a little over a year with 300 dates on the road in 1989. Clifford Antone saw Foley sitting in with Duke Robillard while the band was in Memphis for the W.C. Handy Awards that year. By the age of 21, Foley had relocated to Austin, Texas, where she began recording for Antone's Records. Her first release was Young Girl Blues.

In 2001, Foley won the Juno Award for her CD, Love Comin' Down. Over the course of her career, Foley has earned seventeen Maple Blues Awards and three Trophees de Blues de France, and multiple awards at the Blues Music Awards in Memphis,Tennessee.

In 2018, Foley released the album, The Ice Queen, which featured guest appearances by Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top and Jimmie Vaughan.

In 2024, Foley released the album One Guitar Woman, a solo acoustic tribute to the female pioneers of guitar. The album was nominated for a 2025 Grammy Award for Best Traditional Blues Album. The same year she won her fifth consecutive Koko Taylor Award (Traditional Blues Female Artist) at the 2025 Blues Music Awards ceremony.

Discography

Bibliography / writing

• (2021-2025): Contributing writer for Guitar Player Magazine featuring articles on various female guitarists
• (2024): Contributing writer The Cambridge Companion to the Electric Guitar (Steve Waksman, Jan-Peter Herbst) Cambridge University Press
• (2026): Guitar Women Sutherland House Publishing

Filmography / guitar instructional series

• 2005: Sue Foley - Live in Europe (Ruf) DVD
• 2010: Sue Foley - Guitar Woman (Alfred's Artist Series/Instructional) DVD
• 2025: Truefire Instructional Series

References

External links

• Sue Foley at AllMusic
• Sue Foley discography at Discogs
• 2006 Interview on Modern Guitars Magazine
• Sue Foley discography at MusicBrainz