Andie Kay Joyner

Andie Kay Joyner came into the world the same year that Elvis Presley left in Dallas, TX.  She and her older Brother were raised in the small East TX town of Edgewood by loving parents. A child with beginnings with a musical family in the late 70’s/early 80’s, she remembers “Lying Eyes” by the Eagles, Johnny Lee’s “Looking for Love,” “Mr. Sandman,” and the theme song from “Sesame Street” as being the first songs she ever heard.

Her Mother remarried when she was 5 years old and exposed her to more family members, as well as more styles of music.  She was suddenly a member two households; both full of love, music, and adventures. Her Step-dad had every instrument in their home, but being primarily focused on being a vocalist, she settled on the acoustic guitar. She became enamored and heavily influenced by bands at many Bluegrass Festivals she attended, the TNN Network, Patty Loveless, The Grand Ole Opry, MTV, and with singing with her Mother along with the car radio in her Oldsmobile.   

Her first professional gig came along when she was 10 years of age in the Edgewood High School gym at the annual “Hootenanny;” a local festival put on by the Edgewood Historical Society. She was accompanied by her Mother on upright Bass, and her Step-Dad on guitar. The fear and nerves of a child singing before 100’s of people in her hometown could have easily taken over, but the desire to sing was a greater force, and at that moment, she was hooked.

Along with a little stage fright, her determination and love for singing led her to different stages including church, her Dad’s parties, bluegrass festivals, family reunions, weddings, funerals, and other events.

At 12, she had become a regular guest singer with Stone Mountain Bluegrass band and traveled all around Texas, Arkansas, & Oklahoma to perform with them. Sometimes, her Mother would even fill on bass fiddle and harmony vocals. Stone Mountain eventually led her the ”Kaufman Country Opry” in Kaufman, TX.  There she would be introduced to the “opry scene,“ as well as more country, blues, and pop music, incredible musicians, and life-long friends.  “Most kids in Middle School were living for the weekend. I lived for The Kaufman County Opry,” she has stated. Over the years, The Kaufman County Opry Band consisted of Chris Ricketts, Woody Woodruff, Milo Deering, Steve Campbell, Buddy Arnold, Steve Gracy, Jay New, JD Monson, Jeff Hopson, and more.

Andie Kay became a regular guest singer at Kaufman County Opry, and then, began performing at different opry shows around Texas. She enjoyed the variety and being a part of the different locations, but secretly, the Kaufman Opry was her favorite. She enjoyed the people had become her music family, the different music events, and mostly the talent and musicianship there, and became their full-time backup singer and guest lead vocalist at 15.  It was there her voice matured singing with different guest artist of all genders and ages, including Leann Rimes. It was also there she met her best friend, Heather Stalling.

The Summer of her Sophmore year in High School, she and the rest of the opry band supported Randy Overton as the opening act for John Michael Montgomery and George Straight at StarPlex in Dallas.

The Opry scene started thinning out and she started focusing on her Senior year.  While attending college, she worked a full-time retail management job and started performing with a “dance band.” It was a little bit out of her comfort zone, but it was a fun experience that helped out with books and tuition.

In the late 90’s, she became employed by the corporate world, and was feeling lost on where she wanted to go next musically.

Shortly after, she discovered the Texas Music Scene through her friend, Heather, and joined the band she was in as a backup vocalist. Once again, Andie Kay was excited about music. The scene was larger than life and she was wowed by world class musicians, songwriters, music festivals, radio shows, music lovers, and her life became consumed with it.

She and Heather had the opportunities to perform and record with artists such as Mark David Manders, Jim Lauderdale, Rusty Weir, Tommy Alverson, Max Stalling, and Eleven Hundred Springs, to name a few.

While accompanying other bands, the girls had plenty of time on the road for songwriting and hotel jams after the shows. Over time, they had penned more than enough songs for their first album, and with a little help from other musician friends, they gained enough confidence to start their own band.

They started recording their debut self-titled record, “blacktopGYPSY” in 2004 and released it in 2006. They hired a band and began booking themselves at music venues all over the state.  Quickly, they learned the ins and outs of maintaining every aspect of the music business and of managing a 6 piece band with a full performance schedule.

Unfortunately, 10 years of touring and recording as blacktopGYPSY came to a halt in 2016.

Andie Kay’s health had declined due to her genetic blood disorder, Hemochromatosis, and was hospitalized in March of 2016.  She soon learned that she wouldn’t survive without a heart transplant. Her family, friends, music family, and medical teams supported her throughout her time at UT Southwestern Medical Center and beyond. On September 6, 2016, she became the first person at UTSW to undergo a combined heart and liver transplant.

After setbacks and successes of a grueling recovery, she regained her health, her strength, and her voice. The highlight of this bittersweet experience is knowing her donor through his family, as well as being an advocate of Hemochromatosis patients.  She hopes to help bring awareness and financial assistance to those who are in need of a life-saving organ transplant through hosting benefit concerts and by being a volunteer for Southwest Transplant Alliance.

On National Donor’s Day, Feb 14, 2022, she released her version of Tom Petty’s “Angel Dream” as a tribute to her hero, Steven for saving her life.

She is extremely grateful for her second chance of life, love, and music career.