I enjoy a strong woman's voice. Both a strong voice, and a strong woman. JoAnne Redding fits the bill. She has a voice that simply does not quit, and her no-nonsense style shines forth in this great CD. However, it's not hard to tell that she's having an absolutely great time, and wants you to have one while you're listening, too. Redding opens with the title track and informs you exactly how it's going to be. The second track, "Credit Card Shuffle" is nothing short of hilarious. The entire CD begs you to sing along, and whether you have the blues or not, you find something great in each track. "I sing what I feel, and I feel what I sing," Redding says. It's no exaggeration. You can tell that Redding throws her heart into the ring every time she opens her mouth, and when you combine that feeling with a great voice the result is an entire CD that's singable and that any listener can relate to. I particularly loved "Tread Softly", "Love and A Song", and "I've Earned The Right (To Sing The Blues)”. 

~Singer and Musician Magazine 

JoAnne Redding's new album How It Is kicks in with the funky and punchy title track demonstrating her affinity with the bluesier end of the roots spectrum. When the music turns acoustic the feeling is more of country and mountain roots. All ten tracks are JoAnne Redding original compositions thus displaying talent beyond her well-developed and expressive voice. Her music has been getting frequent radio airplay across the USA and further afield too. How It Is is a well-produced album mixed and engineered by Bobby Sweet who also plays the electric guitar parts and contributes backing vocals. Every once in a while a lady with a voice breaks onto the scene but JoAnne Redding stands just a little taller. Don't be surprised if she gets picked up by a major label sometime soon. 

~Blues Freepress Online Magazine 

Singer JoAnne Redding shows off her impressive pipes on her self-released How It Is, mixing blues, country, folk, rock, and jazz on the disc's all-original program. 

~Illinois Entertainer 

I especially give Redding credit for "Credit Card Shuffle." It is genuinely funny. The arrangements throughout the CD are totally solid and all the players are right on target. The overall sound is impressively professional. Redding's voice has twang and power. Redding is a talented songwriter with a solid collection of songs in How It Is. 

~Muse's Muse 

With a voice that is at times soft and sultry but is equally comfortable belting out a tune, Redding moves from folk to country to blues and back again with aplomb. 

~The Advocate 

After four years, JoAnne Redding is back with a new recording. The album features more folk-oriented, singer-songwriter fare from Redding than in the past, such as "Love and a Song," about an overlooked older musician who once tasted a bit of glory. There are still hints of Redding's country background, such as the mandolin on "Chameleon," but the arrangements evoke a more mainstream sound and Redding strikes a more conventional vocal tone, as much rock and folk as country and blues, so that she would appeal equally to fans of Shania Twain, Melissa Etheridge, Shawn Colvin, Bonnie Raitt, and Patti Scialfa. This homegrown effort features terrific instrumental support by an all-star cast of the best of the Berkshires, including multi-instrumentalists Bobby Sweet and Adam Michael Rothberg, drummer Dave Lincoln and bassist Jody Lampro, among others. 

~Berkshires Week 

A great vocalist and spirited performer, JoAnne Redding offers up a fine collection of bluesy, country, and gospel songs on The Running Kind. Her "Take It From Me" has a similar feel to Bonnie Raitt's version of John Prine's classic "Angel From Montgomery," with a strong and sincere vocal and understated rural-blues guitar fills from Bobby Sweet. "Forty-Something Female" is cool western swing with self-effacing lyrics about the joys of advancing maturity. 

As a songwriter and singer, Redding shows great range in musical styles, from the quiet ballad, "On The Outside Looking In" to the steamy country funk of "I Want Everything." Her "The Patient Kind" should be all over the radio, an instant classic that should be in the repertoire of all the top country vocalists, although it's hard to imagine anyone topping her own version. 

Redding is also a great interpreter of others' songs, like her cover of Lee Roy Parnell's "You're Taking Too Long" and "Richest One" by Bill Carter. As with her own material, she has a way of getting right to the heart of the song and making it totally believable and powerful. Even non-believers will be praising the Lord by the time Redding hits the high notes at the end of her gospel rocker, "Thy Will Be Done." Like the best singer-songwriter albums, "The Running Kind" gets better with each listening. 

~Music Revue Magazine 

Redding is a clarion vocalist, a singer-songwriter with one foot in country rock and another in pop rock. Alternating between a saucy twang and an engaging rock sound, this is a varied and warm recording. JoAnne even turns a bit jazzy on tracks such as "Forty-Something Female. 

~www.womanrock.com