Julianne Ankley
Vocals
Julianne came to us as a referral from Buddy Speir, who has been on many of our records as a guitarist. In Fall of 2023, we began our national outreach to create Cancer Can Rock communities in music towns around the country starting in Detroit. Julianne became a volunteer upon hearing what we do, and came to the studio to visit and help.
Little did she know at the time that she’d be pressed into vocal service. But she was, and for good reason.
Julianne Ankley’s soulful Blue Country, Americana style hails from a small Michigan border town close to the shore of Lake Huron and within earshot of the musical influences of Detroit.
Ankley’s newly released music video for ”The Ghost of the Fort Gratiot Lighthouse” is a fictional story song about a lightkeeper that was murdered and now haunts the oldest lighthouse in the state of Michigan forevermore. The song was released on her album “With Love from Lake Huron” in 2020 and won the 2021 Detroit Music Award for Outstanding Country Recording.
With fourteen Detroit Music Awards, Julianne Ankley has been writing heartfelt songs and delivering electric performances for years. To date she has released 4 solo albums and 4 singles. Her songs have been used on national television (WXYZ ABC) for the annual “Woodward Dream Cruise” special, she performed live on the nationally televised “America’s Thanksgiving Day Parade (WDIV NBC), and by HomeAid of America for PSA campaigns to raise funds for housing the homeless. Julianne tours nationally as a performer/speaker and also splits her time between writing and recording in Nashville and her home in Michigan.
As a songwriter, Julianne has written with hit songwriters, Byron Hill, Dave Gibson, Mike Dekle, Gary Hannan, Amanda Williams, Jon D’Agostino, Michelle Chenard, and Caleb Malooley of the Gasoline Gypsies. She has performed at many songwriter shows alongside hit writers including Aaron Barker Sr., Chas Sandford, Gary Hannan, Dave Gibson, Heidi Newfield, Kristen Kelly, Byron Hill, Angie Kielhauer, Jeff Prince, Bernie Nelson, and Barbara Cloyd.
She’s been the celebrity host and performer for the Hard Rock Cafe stages in Nashville during the CMA Fest for several years, and continues to perform at Nashville’s top songwriting venues such as the world-famous Bluebird Cafe, the Listening Room, Douglas Corner Cafe, Tootsie’s, and more.
Julianne Ankley is also an active voting member of the Recording Academy for the Grammys.
