Jaimee Harris is poised to become the next queen of Americana-Folk, a slightly edgier Emmylou Harris for the younger generation.
Jaimee grew up in Waco, TX, a child to young parents, high school sweethearts. When she was five years old, her father noticed that she had taken an interest in music, and got her a guitar for Christmas. Soon after, she discovered Emmylou Harris and Fleetwood Mac, and before long, the kid was hooked. Harris’s father took her down to Austin for the first ever Austin City Limits Festival, and there she saw Emmylou, Buddy & Julie Miller, and Patty Griffin all perform live. Her father had only brought enough extra money to pay for a hotel in Austin that evening, but when he saw how much Jaimee wanted those CDs in the merch tent, he ponied up the cash and drove all the way back to Waco late that night.
“Music is my whole life,” says Harris, “If I’m not writing or playing, I’m going to see a band, or reading a book about Woody Guthrie. I live in a city where I can walk in and see an amazing show like James McMurtry practically for free, every week. I only made it through one semester of college, but being around these amazing songwriters here in Austin… It’s like getting an education.”
