Opera house welcomes Vanessa Collier

Vanessa Collier, acclaimed soulful blues singer/saxophonist and 2020 Blues Music Awards nominee in both “Contemporary Blues Female Artist” and “Instrumentalist - Horn” categories, continues her “Honey Up” 2020 Tour with a local performance at Mauch Chunk Opera House, 14 W. Broadway, on Friday. The show begins at 8 p.m.

Collier received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Philadelphia Blues Society last July at the Briggs Farm Blues Festival.

She toured Spain and Switzerland throughout the first part of October, after performing at the huge, three-day Big Blues Bender in Las Vegas this past September.

The young musician has risen quickly in the eyes of her peers, winning “Best Instrumentalist- Horn” at the 2019 Blues Music Awards last May. She is planning to release a new album this spring.

As a master musician and multi-instrumentalist, Collier weaves funk, soul, rock and blues into every powerful performance. With soulful vocals, searing saxophone and witty songwriting, she is blazing a trail, racking up an arsenal of honors, and has already singled herself out as an artist of distinction and one we would all do well to watch.

A 2013 graduate of the Berklee College of Music, she’s toured nationally and internationally, and released three critically acclaimed albums, “Heart, Soul & Saxophone,” “Meeting My Shadow” and “Honey Up.”

These days, Collier spends much of her time on the road, performing at music festivals around the world.

Collier says she’s happy performing on stages across the world, hoping that she can make a difference with fans and followers along the way.

“I am driven to do this because I find it a total form of expression and connection,” she said. “I love connecting with an audience and feeling their energy, and I hope to inspire people to follow their dreams and passions, to find what brings them joy, and then to pursue it doggedly.”

Tickets for this show are all available online at mcohjt.com; by phone at 570-325-4009 or 570-325-0249; at SoundCheck Records during business hours or at the opera house box office on the day of the show.