Blue Line Highway is John Leedes, Julia Dooley, Melissa McKenna, and Ray Alfano
John Leedes
John has played everything from space jams to edgy pop in such local favorites as The Flipside, Left Exit, Thelma Shook, and Whistler's Mother. In high school he played with Dave Schools, who went on to found Widespread Panic. John currently plays with The Reaction, the Harrison Deane Band, King Solomon's Marbles, Squalor Hollow Boyz, and the Bart Chucker Band, and sits in with Amy Henderson, Dave Pollard, Wendy Pace, and others. He has shared stages with Matt "Guitar" Murphy, Little Feat, Rick Derringer, NRBQ, J. Geils, Melvin Seals, Donna Godchaux MacKay, and the David Nelson Band.
Julia Dooley
A singer and songwriter originally from the foothills of southwest Virginia, Julia joined the band in 2003. Her musical journeys have allowed her to share stages with James King, Jack Lawrence, the Slack Family, Squalor Hollow, Neko Case, the Legendary Shackshakers, and the Carpenter Ants. She is also a member of Engine 143, the well-known Carter Family tribute band. Julia's distinctive blues-influenced vocals help define Blue Line Highway's unique sound.
Melissa McKenna
Melissa, a founding member of Blue Line Highway, is its principal songwriter. At six she was handed her first guitar when her uncle won it in a poker game. Over the years and through a wide range of life experiences she developed distinctive styles of songwriting and fingerpicking, unbound by convention. Her lyrics and original musical approach are major contributors to Blue Line Highway's sound.
Ray Alfano
Ray Alfano is from Long Island, NY. At 16, after playing guitar for several years, Ray took up the bass, and played the New York, New Jersey and Connecticut club scenes with such bands as The Brats and Boxcar Poodle. Ray moved to Virginia in 1988 and quickly met new friends and musicians. Ray joined the Blue Line Highway lineup in 2006.
Influences
Dave Grisman, The Band, The Byrds, Emmylou Harris, The Grateful Dead, It's A Beautiful Day, Janis Joplin, Jefferson Airplane, Joni Mitchell, Lucinda Williams, Rickie Lee Jones
Sounds Like
"Mix up bluegrass, folk, rock, country, shake and pour"
--Greg Hershey, Richmond.com
yay! Almost Reel is delicious! sorry it's taken me so long to get around to listening... I love the energy of it. Fabulous! sending much mirth and music x0x
O K I finally got a chance to listen to the 3 new songs you posted. I WAS NOT DISAPPOINTED. Can't wait for my copy to arrive. Don't forget M you said you would figure out a way to get out of Va & perform in the great cold NORTH---Md or Pa--- in the not to distant future. I do think that your new song "FROZEN NORTH" is a cry from you to go back to that area so that you can enjoy the snow.
Hope this cd sells very well for you---it should if the first 3 songs are any indication.
You all are the very best; your hearts, souls, creativity, and talent. We are honored to call you our friends and feel privileged to be part of your lives. We ask ourselves how we got to be so lucky. Waiting with anticipation for November 14th.
I see you're "online now" icon thingy all lit up. What are you doing on the Internet on a lovely Friday night? Shouldn't you be out blowin' the roof off some joint somewhere?
well, i can't wait to see whats up your sleeves, it should be a kickin' time, i know the place will be packed! See you guys soon! My husband and I moved in next to Ned and Dia in July so we are pretty excited about New Years, too!
hey melissa..you bet..keep takin the music to everyone on down the road, and keep tuning em up!!....hopefully will get up the east coast and into your area and cross paths at some point..soon..twh
we're visualizing too! believing is seeing...blue line highway comes to austin! by the way, your video is fabulous. it looks like you had fun making it.
hey melissa, i just watched what the bleep do we know and found it v. enlightening. the part that really struck me most was the photographs of water by dr emoto and how the water changed when blessed or thought about. so thanks for recommending it. i saw another documentary about science and religion recently called expelled:no intelligence allowed narrated by ben stein. you might check that one out. i would be interested to know what you think. peace from your sister philosopher, lili