Biography

Contact Info: Kirby Heard (336) 442-4025
kirbz@mac.com

Kirby Heard - Mama's Biscuits
Release Date: July 15, 2019

Mama's Biscuits is heartfelt, filled with life's moments and memories, and though our moments and memories may be different, Kirby brings forth those common heart-spaces we all share. Her music is sweet, it is thoughtful and it is fun. Definitely a 'must-have!'

~FaceBook Post

I began writing songs in 2012 after being introduced to a Bluegrass circle. I found harmonies I couldn't resist in songs I didn't yet know. There I also found a voice that blended with mine like a milkshake, or the universal Southern Charm I've also found. Friends encouraged us to form a band, and showcase our newfound harmonies - from unique interpretations of standards, to our blue-grassification of rock & folk songs. The band's 2016 release, Pieces of a Dream, includes 2 of my original songs as well.

My songwriting varies in style, however, and I chose to release Mama's Biscuits as a solo effort in 2019. A collection of stories, told from the heart. I entered FJ Ventre's Good Luck Studio just after Jon Shain won the International Blues Championship in Memphis, Tennessee, and Jon helped gather the perfect combination of talented musicians for this project.

Production:
Recorded and Mixed at Good Luck Studio, Chapel Hill, NC
Produced by Jon Shain
Engineered & Mixed by FJ Ventre
Mastered by Wes Easter, Eastwood Studio, Cana, VA
Photography by Linda Hester
Graphic Design by Kirby Heard

Musicians:
Kirby Heard: Lead Vocals, Guitar
Ted Ehrhard: Fiddle
Danny Gotham: Mandolin
Joe Newberry: Banjo
Allyn Love: Dobro
Jon Shain: Electric, Acoustic, Classical Guitars
FJ Ventre: Upright Bass
Laurelyn Dossett: Harmony Vocals
Dean Driver: Harmony Vocals

All songs written by Kirby Heard (BMI)

Order of Songs On CD

1- MONTGOMERY COUNTY (3:57)
Songwriter: Kirby Heard
PRO: BMI

Musicians:
Kirby Heard: Vocals, Guitar
Ted Ehrhard: Fiddle
FJ Ventre: Upright Bass
Laurelyn Dossett: Vocals

The song was born of stories shared with me about growing up in Montgomery County, North Carolina, and reflections on the simplicity of living in earlier times.

2- MEET ME AT THE GATE (4:27)

Songwriter: Kirby Heard
PRO: BMI

Musicians:
Kirby Heard: Vocals, Guitar
Ted Ehrhard: Fiddle
Jon Shain: Guitar
FJ Ventre: Upright Bass

We all have someone we'd like to see again, whom we most likely lost too soon. This daughter muses about her long-gone father, and their ultimate reunion.

3- WITH YOU THERE (3:19)

Songwriter: Kirby Heard
PRO: BMI

Musicians:
Kirby Heard: Vocals, Guitar
Danny Gotham: Mandolin
FJ Ventre: Upright Bass
Laurelyn Dossett: Vocals

Sometimes we need the shoulder of a friend who isn't nearby. This song is from the point of view of the one who is consoling from afar, and who longs to be near.

4- SLINGSHOT (2:26)

Songwriter: Kirby Heard
PRO: BMI

Musicians:
Kirby Heard: Vocals, Guitar
Ted Ehrhard: Fiddle
Joe Newberry: Banjo
FJ Ventre: Upright Bass
Laurelyn Dossett: Vocals

Two boys, growing up during the Great Depression, helping to feed the family by hunting squirrels & rabbits with their slingshots.

5- CAN'T FIND THE WORDS (2:39)

Songwriter: Kirby Heard
Publisher & PRO: Grass Tank Music (BMI)

Musicians:
Kirby Heard: Vocals, Guitar
Allyn Love: Dobro
FJ Ventre: Upright Bass
Laurelyn Dossett: Vocals

A conversation with a fellow songwriter concluded with, "nothing is original anymore" and then landed on a love song that had been waiting to be born.

6- MISSING YOU SUNDAY BLUES (3:05)

Songwriter: Kirby Heard
PRO: BMI

Musicians:
Kirby Heard: Vocals, Guitar
Jon Shain: Electric Guitar
FJ Ventre: Upright Bass

We have fun all weekend and then it has to end... reality comes back in. The week between is hard, especially when your love is far away.

7- MAMA'S ATTIC (2:55)

Songwriter: Kirby Heard
PRO: BMI

Musicians:
Kirby Heard: Vocals
Jon Shain: Acoustic & Classical Guitars
FJ Ventre: Upright Bass

After my mother passed, I went to sort her belongings for donation, trash, or auction. During the sorting process, I found things I knew nothing about and had never seen before - she was 91. It's never too late to get to know those you think you know best...

8- DAY IS DONE (2:59)

Songwriter: Kirby Heard
PRO: BMI

Musicians:
Kirby Heard: Vocals, Guitar
Ted Ehrhard: Fiddle

Choices. Life has choices. Big, small, important, minor... yet we always come back to our root, our home, our heart.

9- GET (THE HELL) OFF MY FARM (1:40)

Songwriter: Kirby Heard
PRO: BMI

Musicians:
Kirby Heard: Vocals, Guitar
FJ Ventre: Upright Bass

Be careful where you tread! We can't pilfer abandoned farmhouses the way we could years ago... surveillance equipment, big dogs & grudges can get in the way.

10- CAROLINE (2:56)

Songwriter: Kirby Heard
PRO: BMI

Musicians:
Kirby Heard: Vocals, Guitar
FJ Ventre: Upright Bass
Laurelyn Dossett: Vocals
Dean Driver: Vocals

One can fall in love with a place and a person, and call them home.

11- REFLECTIONS (2:20)

Songwriter: Kirby Heard
PRO: BMI

Musicians:
Kirby Heard: Vocals, Guitar, Alto Flute
Jon Shain: Guitar

Self-evaluation: Who am I? Am I true to myself? Do I show me on the outside, or am I someone else to others?

12- YOU DON'T HAVE TO KNOW JESUS (2:29)

Songwriter: Kirby Heard
PRO: BMI

Musicians:
Kirby Heard: Vocals, Guitar
Allyn Love: Dobro
FJ Ventre: Upright Bass
Laurelyn Dossett: Vocals
Dean Driver: Vocals

My gospel tune... spirituality and religion don't have to be mutually exclusive; love and light don't have to have a church.

KIRBY HEARD BIOGRAPHY

Kirby Heard is a singer-songwriter who’s story has taken her from a big city in the Midwest to a sleepy southern town, and the love of her life. Now her songs take listeners on a journey of life’s highs, lows, and the people who make their company along the way.

Bob & Kirby’s Double H Bluegrass released Pieces of a Dream in 2016, which includes Kirby's original songs Broken Hearted and Not Forgotten - A Song for All Time (a song for Veterans and all who Serve).

Kirby’s solo project, Mama’s Biscuits, presents a collection of stories, told from the heart. Be a part of Kirby’s stories as she paints pictures of life with her words.


Festivals:
Wayside Bluegrass Festival (Stuart, VA)

Lil John's Mountain Music Festival (Snow Camp, NC)

Saturday Sessions (New Bern, NC)

Festival for the Eno (Durham, NC)

Come Out & Play (Carrboro, NC)

Durham Arts Council CenterFest (Durham, NC)

Bluegrass Jamboree Music Fest (Sanford, NC)

Lexington BBQ Festival (Lexington, NC)

Venues:
DeBean (High Point, NC)

The Flying Biscuit (Raleigh, NC)

WiFi Wine Bar (High Point, NC)

The Garage (Greensboro, NC)

The Deck (Greensboro, NC)