Vanja Sky :
Sky picked up the guitar at the age of 19, inspired by an evening visit to a live music venue near her hometown of Buzet. “It was crazy,” she laughs. “There was a special energy in the air. I can’t even describe it. I decided I wanted to play guitar right then and there - and when I decide something, I just have to do it.” She ordered a cheap guitar on the internet, began taking lessons from the guitar player whose performance had inspired her and eventually quit her job as a pastry chef to dedicate herself to music.
Roughly two years later, she left home to join a band in Croatia’s capital. Concerts in Serbia, Slovenia, Germany and her native Croatia allowed her to hone her skills as both a singer and guitarist.
Jump ahead to the year 2017. Faster than she could ever have imagined, Sky is now making a record with some of the biggest names in the blues business. Her first stop is Bessie Blues Studios in Stantonville, Tennessee, the home base of Grammy-winning producer Jim Gaines. There, she records the sizzling, Luther Allison-penned roadhouse blues “Low Down and Dirty” together with fellow guitarists Mike Zito and Bernard Allison. A short time later, she reconvenes with Zito and a cast of experienced session players to record another eleven tunes. The result is her debut Bad Penny - an album of modern electric blues with a straightforward, rock’n’roll attitude.