Amanda Garrigues was born in the southern, college town of Gainesville, Florida. In the music that she writes and performs, she pays tribute to the themes of home, family and ndependence. From the time she was a young girl, Amanda absorbed her love of music through her father, an accomplished guitarist. Her family attended church every Sunday, where the traditional hymns of the church choir she sang in, further inspired her to want to create and perform her own music. While a student at the University of Florida, she met and played with other musicians, and formed the progressive folk band, Big Shoals Tract. In her two years as singer/frontwoman for Big Shoals Tract, Amanda established herself as one of the most popular and endearing women in the Gainesville music scene and made a place for herself in the hearts and minds of its critics and music fans alike. During her time in Big Shoals Tract, Amanda met Lynda Stipe and her band, the eclectic Athens, Georgia-based, Hetch-Hetchy, whom she briefly toured with as a back-up singer. When BST disbanded, she decided it was time to focus more on her own songwriting and guitar playing. In the winter of 1995, Amanda left Gainesville and retreated to Denver, Colorado. She spent most of the cold winter indoors honing her craft: writing songs. Amanda returned to her hometown the following year and with her, she brought a lovely catalog of well-crafted pop songs... her best yet. The document of Amanda's journey is her solo debut EP, Spirit Act. She and her superb supporting cast, including David McMahon and Eric Steinberg of My Friend Steve (Mammoth) and Tom Hurst of House of Dreams (RCA), have crafted a special collection of snapshots of our lives. Spirit Act showcases Amanda's astonishingly intimate voice, sweet and clear with an underlying rich soulfulness. Amanda is one of those rare artists who can speak to you in a voice that gives both compassion and registers pain. Whether you are listening to Amanda from the comfort of your couch or from the back of a smoke-filled club, you know immediately that you are the recipient of a gift.