Publication: Sing Out - Autumn 2007
Reviewer: AP
Subject: Trains and Hens
Amy Meyers is a music educator from the San Francisco Bay Area, with 5 releases predating this debut children’s CD.  On Train and Hens, Amy covers 19 standard kids’ songs, playing with styles, modes and tempos.  There are plenty of chances for participation.

“Hello There” is a call-and-response opener for little ones to sing and act out throughout the bouncy number.  “Cluck Old Hen,” complete with clucking hen imitations, becomes a tool for counting.  Amy switches from minor to major and changes tempo.  This has an old time country flavor.  “Working on the Railroad” accelerates during the “Dinah won’t you blow” section.  It begins with a slow steady beat, adding quicker upbeat drumming and a bright trumpet section.           

“Train is a Comin’” is a nice change from the previous pieces with soulful gospel feel and overdubbed harmonies.  The fishing song “Crawdad Hole” has a bass line against a jazz piano with great instrumentation breaks.

Taking the old French melody that became “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star,” Amy covers four genres, moving from classical to rock to reggae and finally jazz all in the same number.  “Ba Ba Black Sheep,” a similar melody, utilizes a few chord changes from the standard as she sings throughout at a very slow tempo.

“The Itsy Bitsy Spider” begins with a jazz bass line with heavily high-hat drum backing.  Long breaks with jazz piano make this number slightly out of place in what’s a children’s CD Release.

Publication: Children of the New Earth
Reviewer: Kathleen Jacoby
Subject: Trains and Hens
This is a real sing along treat for the little ones, with old favorites that we've all sung when we were growing up.  It's hard not to sing along as you hear I've Been Working on the Railroad, or get up and dance to a swinging rendition of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.  I even found myself going through all the hand movements I learned in Kindergarten when Itsy Bitsy Spider played.  Amy and her band have a wonderful fresh approach to a lot of children's favorites, and you can tell that kids of all ages will dance and sing to this delightful album which includes participation by children and barnyard animal sounds contributed by playful adults.

Publication: Orange County Register Reviewer: Eric Marchese
Subject: The Musical - "Cowgirls"
Amy Meyers... is the play's most whimsical character. When Meyers sings, she makes us believe Lee's personality hides a country-western singer in the making.

Publication: San Francisco Examiner Reviewer: Robert Hurwitt
Subject: The Musical - "Cowgirls" ... Amy Meyers strums a fine guitar ... Meyers is both engagingly spacey as the new-agey lesbian Lee and a vital, fervent vocalist.

Publication: Pacific Sun
Reviewer: Lee Brady
Subject: The Musical - "Cowgirls"
...It's an amazing ensemble-each of the six has to convincingly play both classical and country music as well as sing and act...Amy Meyers claims center stage with her pleasing performance as the multitalented Lee.

Publication: San Francisco Chronicle Reviewer: Steven Winn
Subject: The Musical - "Cowgirls"
...A sweet folk song, "Don't Look Down," calms the hyperactive Meyers and unlocks a lovely voice...

Publication: Marin Independent Journal Reviewer: Paul Liberatore
Subject: The Musical - "Cowgirls"
It took Marin Theatre Company an entire year to cast its new show, "Cowgirls." "This was definitely the most challenging show I've ever done," says casting director Annie Stuart. It's easy to see why. The three actresses in the main roles have to crossover from classical to country music, playing a multitude of instruments. They have to sing. And oh, yes, act. One of the characters... has to strum a guitar and sing country songs as well as play a Beethoven sonata on the cello. How many actresses/musicians in the Bay Area fill that bill? Maybe none. Amy Meyers, a pop-rock singer-songwriter who landed the role, has had to learn to play cello for the part. The 31-year-old Northwestern theatre major took cello lessons from a friend in the master's program at San Francisco State. She already knew how to play a little stand-up bass, which is vaguely similar to cello, but not that much. "I spent 5 weeks woodshedding," she says.

Publication: Totally Adult - Los Angeles Reviewer: John Schoenberger - from The Album Network
Subject: Open Road In the mid '90s, Amy Meyers left the popular Bay Area band, Plain Folk, to pursue a new road of musical expression. In 1997, she released The Wheel, which was warmly received by local critics and gave her the confidence to continue with her music. She now returns with an EP that clearly shows musical growth and a renewed willingness to experiment. Meyers' music is certainly folk-based, with a distinct pop sensibility (due in large part to her beautiful vocal style), yet you can't help but notice her efforts to stretch things out. In fact, each of the five songs on Open Road have a different musical feeling; however, there's a common thread that runs through them all. "[These songs] are all about moving forward and leaving things behind that are hard to leave behind, and just going for it." says Meyers.

Publication: Collected Sounds Reviewer: Amy
Subject: Strange & Beautiful
Meyers has an alto voice that slips into falsetto occasionally giving it a unique lilting quality.  She is accompanied by several instruments but mostly piano and acoustic guitar.  I especially like "Good" - it's funky and fun.  "Girls Like You" also has alot of personality.  For the second half of the CD, she makes use of piano as well on a couple of songs and it sounds great!  "Downside" is especially pretty...I think "How Long?" is my favorite track here.  It's one that stuck with me upon first listen and when I heard it again, it felt like an old friend...The CD starts out sounding like straight up folk, but then a pop song "pops" up.  Later comes an adult contemporary piano ballad, then when you get to track ten, it almost sounds like jazz.  "Spring" borders on classical, complete with strings (and is beautiful)...Because there are so many styles in one, maybe only open minded music fans will love every single song, but there is something here for everyone.  This is a really nice CD.

Publication: Twangin'! - San Francisco Reviewer: Cheryl Cline
Subject: Live Shows in the Bay Area
For a folkier slant on roots music, check out The Plain Folk Band featuring singer/songwriter Amy Meyers, whose amazing voice, lovely songs, and compelling performance style always improves this clubgoer's attitude... the Plain Folk Band, a folk/blues/pop band doesn't twang so much as it grooves. Meyers has a pretty but muscular voice, and works it out on my favorite song, "Burning."

Publication: Collected Sounds Women In Music
Reviewer: Anna Maria Stjarnell
Subject: Crossing
Meyers makes folk influenced pop with smart lyrics and memorable tunes...she has a few things in common with Shawn Colvin, but she is a bit edgier.

Reviewer: Alex Green - San Francisco Publicist
Subject: Open Road Title of Review: Amy Meyers likes AC/DC It's true. Even though Meyers' tuneful songwriting and meditative lyrical observations seem to be the direct opposite of the blues-tinged metal the legendary Australian group served up for the last twenty years, she openly admits to being a fan. Although you might not expect that Meyers, whose own music is a wistful blend of gorgeous melodies and soporific vocals, would be an AC/DC fan, to prove it, the album cover for Powerage, replete with a grimacing Angus Young hangs directly above the console in her San Francisco studio. Part of Amy Meyers' charm is that you never know what to expect; the other part is that she's so good at what she does, it doesn't matter. On her new EP, Open Road, Meyers not only picks up where the infectious folky pop of 1997's The Wheel left off, she ventures into bolder musical territories with such confidence and harmonious aplomb, after one listen to the five new compositions that make up Open Road, it is apparent that Meyers is at the top of her game. From the fast talking freestyling opener, "This Time," to the breezy strains of the title track, Open Road is an exhilarating batch of catchy pop songs that never let up. A native Texan who grew up training classically in opera, Meyers has a voice that falls somewhere between Shawn Colvin and Sarah McLachlan, and with her deft vocal phrasing and richly textured delivery, she sounds like she can do anything. Although the compositions on Open Road are different from one another musically, lyrically they all share a common theme. Whether it's the hook-laden grooves of "Sooner Or Later," or the dreamy rock of "Reachin' Out," - a song she wrote in 1991 while playing with her old band, Plain Folk - each of Meyers' songs move with a quiet authority and an optimistic take on tomorrow. Lyrically, Meyers effortlessly summons the landscape of failed relationships, personal expectations, and lost summers, and seamlessly blends these subjects into songs that soothe the savage soul. The road has always been used as a metaphor for freedom, and in American literature, great authors like Twain, Salinger, and Kerouac have all used the road to assert the idea that going somewhere is cathartic, but the real cleansing lies not so much in the destination as in the trip itself. On Open Road, Meyers augments this premise by looking further than the trip, further than the road, and further than the arrival; she combines the three in such a complete and unified way, her music seems to suggest that she's already thinking about where to go next. "It's true," Meyers says of the songs that make up Open Road, "they're really all about moving forward and leaving things behind that are hard to leave behind, and just going for it." A theatre major in college, who came to the Bay Area after she graduated, Meyers' compositions have a stunning clarity and a buoyant glow that clearly distinguish her as one of the most unique and freshest talents around. The closing song, the introspective "Looking Back," has a fragility and a strength that really sums up what Meyers is all about. It's an intense number that lyrically boasts a resolve that seems to suggest that not only will tomorrow be better than today, it will be coming soon. "It's a slowing down," Meyers says of the track, "it's about coming into myself, which is a process that makes you look back on things too. It's a truthful song." Indeed it is truthful, and like every other track on Open Road, it makes you think everything is going to be okay. Already at work on the full-length follow-up to

Publication: San Francisco Chronicle                               Reviewer: Erika Milvy
Subject: Trains and Hens Show  Amy Meyers played a kids show at Dolores Park Cafe on Friday, Feb 23rd "whose gig included puppets, chicken hats and a headbanger's rendition of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star."

Reviewer: Julie Nakahara (A&R)
Subject: Strange & Beautiful
Well crafted songs.  Strong vocals.  Solid instrumentation and well written lyrics.  All songs are quite memorable and hooky.  Overall, a really nice, tight, strong CD!  Really enjoyed listening to it.

Reviewer: Joel Jaffe (Producer)
Subject: Strange & Beautiful
Love your voice, listened to your record twice.  I think you make a good record.  The first song is real good.  I like your vibe and think you have real talent.

Open Road, one gets the feeling that Amy Meyers can't be stopped. Her songs are emotionally honest slices of daily life that don't attempt to mythologize or mask the good and bad things we do to each other. Meyers' talent is so vast she seems capable of anything, and her musical counterparts - Jewel, Natalie Merchant, Sheryl Crow - should start paying attention. Open Road serves notice to the musical world that not only has she arrived, Amy Meyers is here to stay. She sings like an angel, she likes AC/DC, and she writes songs that will make you glad you have a heart.

Publication: Sound Check - San Francisco Reviewer: Clark Mosher
Subject: Making Waves Street Festival The Plain Folk Band played to a cluster of enthusiastic onlookers. Plain Folk's loose casual jam rolled out seemlessly, sorta like a little campfire right there on Market Street. The high-spirited sounds had people groovin'... and I listened to the aptly named Plain Folk Band. The people around were enjoying songs about Texas and such and digging the scene for the most part... the woman who sang could certainly hold a tune

Publication: Outlet Magazine - Essex, UK
Reviewer: Trev Faull
Subject: The Plain Folk Band - "Cole Street Sessions"
... Six tracks featuring singer/guitarist Amy Meyers with no frills but plenty of old fashioned charm... Amy's voice is bright and clear, making full use of the songs' potential. Subject: The Plain Folk Band - "The Pink Tape" ... It opens with one of their best songs, "Someone Else's Hands" overflowing into folk-rock-blues territory... the tape ends with the excellent "Cheap House Wine" a rousing vintage rocker approaching that legendary 'Sun' sound of the late 50's Memphis legends. A satisfying closer and hopefully just a taster of what Amy and her band can do.