The origins of Amanda Drake and the Barnburners can be traced back to the rural outskirts of Tampa, Florida. As the powerful vocal epicenter of the group, Amanda grew up writing and performing music since the age of 10. Amanda and Tom Burruano (lead guitar) honed their skills during impromptu live sets playing around bonfires for their friends. In ‘06, Amanda and Tommy collaborated on their first original composition, “My Love”. Then, as the raw bonfire performances began to reach local legend status, the duo reached out to close friends and talented local musicians in order to assemble a full band for live sets. Guitarist / songwriter Christian Permenter was brought on-board along with long-time friend Sean Smith on drums. The Barnburners were rounded out with bassist John Tillman, J.V. Tedesco on keys and piano, and the free-spirited Freddy Chandler with fiddle / banjo / dobro duties.
In December of ’08, the group earned a Battle of the Bands victory for Tampa country radio station US 103-5. The station rewarded the band with an opening slot for Blake Shelton at Raymond James Stadium! Since then, they’ve completed their self-titled debut album and they’ve played major-label showcase events in Nashville.
Along with the well-penned songs on their debut release, the band’s live sets are a blistering whirlwind of entertainment combining elements of country, rock, blues, soul and more. For this dedicated group of childhood friends turned talented recording artists, the future holds much promise. And this is only the beginning…
|
Online Now!
