East Tennessee. More than just a convenient description, in musical terms it means lonesome, spooky, mountain melodies and lyrics. Donna Beasley continues the tradition of real, honest rural music adding elements of classic country, rock, and pop. With a voice that goes from a whisper to a wail, she injects her music with the soul of the mountains, the joy of their beauty, and the pain of their isolation. Hear the results on Donna's eclectic 2007 Americana/Alt-Country debut, "Good Samaritan."
Donna's parents hailed from the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia. Shortly after marrying, they moved to the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park where Donna was born and raised, Sevierville, Tennessee. From a young age Donna was exposed to a wide range of musical styles. Her mother came from a family of guitar pickers and fiddlers who favored Bluegrass and Country music. Her father's tastes ran purely Country while her older brothers introduced her to Rock & Roll and R & B.
In her teens, Donna gained notoriety singing in local churches and tent revivals. The biblical themes from her Fundamental Baptist background are evident in her songs.
Donna's songs have been featured on compilations of East Tennessee songwriters. Donna was nominated for a 2006 WIVK HEMI Award for Favorite Future Female Artist, and "Good Samaritan" was a finalist for a 2007 Independent Music Award in the Americana Album category. In Fall 2008, Donna was selected to showcase at the Americana Music Association Conference in Nashville.
Donna made USA Today's Weekly Playlist as well as XM Satellite Radio's Radar Report, received airplay on XM Radio Unsigned, on Steve Earle's Air America Radio, and on the Bob Harris show on BBC radio.
Donna's second CD, "Under The Rushes," is due out Spring 2010.