Born in Pittsburgh and a long-time resident of New York City, Amy played drums in short-lived no wave group Stare Kits before picking up guitar, pen & cassette player to become songwriter, singer and rhythm guitarist for cowpunk pioneers Last Roundup. They released one album “Twister” (1987) on the Rounder label. She became a mother soon after, and started oddball female folk pop trio The Shams, recording a single for Bob Mould’s SOL label. An album “Quilt,” produced by Lenny Kaye, and an EP “Sedusia” came out on Matador before Amy’s first solo album “Diary Of A Mod Housewife” (1996) got the attention of critics and music fans. Produced by Cars guitarist Elliot Easton, it combined real life lyrics and transcendent melodies with a passionate music fan's collection of pop, rock and country influences.
Subsequent solo albums "Middlescence" (1998), "The Sugar Tree" (2000), "Til The Wheels Fall Off" (2003), "Little Fugitive" (2005) and the anthology "18 Again" (2001) all received outstanding reviews. Amy has been profiled on NPR’s Fresh Air and All Things Considered, CNN and MSNBC. She's appeared on Late Night with Conan O'Brien, Bumbershoot, Lilith Fair, Mountain Stage, Woodsongs, PBS's Speaking Freely and World Cafe. From 2000 to 2004, she was a songwriter for Welk Music in Nashville. She has been a panelist and performer at CMJ, Southern Festival of Books, South by Southwest, Folk Alliance and Rockrgrl conferences. Her songs have been covered by Laura Cantrell, Jonell Mosser, Ronnie Spector and They Might Be Giants’ John Flansburgh, and featured in films & TV shows.
Amy has toured the US, UK and Europe. In 2005 she and singer Marti Jones created a show, Cynical Girls, and performed it all over the US with special guest, legendary Stiff artist Wreckless Eric. Amy and Eric have been playing together since then, releasing an album, “Wreckless Eric & Amy Rigby”, on the Stiff label.
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