Liz Vice

An American performer steeped in gospel, soul, and R&B, Portland, Oregon–based Liz Vice draws on a vocal style, melodic sensibility, and lyrical depth that recall Mavis Staples, Adele, Laura Mvula, and Sister Rosetta Tharpe. Born the middle child among five siblings, she was raised in a home rich with both music and spiritual practice, where she cultivated her abilities from an early age. At nineteen she received a diagnosis of kidney disease; her creative goals were suspended while she underwent three and a half years of hemodialysis, until a transplant in 2005 restored her health. Once recovered, Vice devoted herself anew to faith and song, appearing onstage alongside Portland figures such as Eric Early of Blitzen Trapper, Josh White of Telecast, Josh Garrels, Tunde Baiyewu of Lighthouse Family, Luz Mendoza of Y la Bamba, and Eshon Burgundy of Humble Beast. She soon found herself opening for Cody Chesnutt and St. Paul & the Broken Bones, and in 2015 she issued her widely praised first album, There's a Light, on Ramseur Records.