Philadelphia, PA · folk-soul · singer-songwriter

Amos Lee

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A former schoolteacher with a honeyed, understated folk-soul voice built for the late-afternoon slot — easy warmth that has aged into deep-catalog dependability.

Amos Lee was born Ryan Anthony Massaro in 1977 and raised in Kensington, Philadelphia, before moving to Cherry Hill, New Jersey, at eleven and graduating from Cherry Hill High School East. He studied English with a minor in education at the University of South Carolina, where an interest in music took hold after he heard a John Prine anthology.

Back in Philadelphia he worked as a second-grade teacher at the Mary McLeod Bethune School and tended bar at local music venues, playing open mics on the side. Through his manager Bill Eib's contacts, he landed opening slots for Mose Allison and B.B. King before a demo sent to record labels in 2003 caught Blue Note's attention.

Norah Jones heard his music at the label and invited him to open her 2004 tour, and a connection between managers led to the Dylan support slot the following year. His self-titled debut, produced by Jones's bassist Lee Alexander and featuring Jones and her band, peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard Heatseekers chart and earned him a spot on Rolling Stone's Top 10 Artists to Watch.

Later albums moved between spare and fuller sounds: Supply and Demand in 2006, whose single 'Shout Out Loud' reached the Billboard 200; Last Days at the Lodge in 2008; and Mission Bell, which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 in 2011. He has released five albums on Blue Note in total and has opened for artists including Elvis Costello, Paul Simon, Van Morrison and the Avett Brothers.

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folk-soulsinger-songwriter