Delta Maid

Delta Maid

Delta Maid is a Liverpool singer-songwriter from Wavertree in South Liverpool. She performs as a solo artist and writes her own material, with a style rooted in acoustic blues, folk and alt.country.

Background and influences

Her musical interests begin in childhood, shaped by American roots music and by her parents’ record collection, which includes artists such as Bonnie Raitt, Taj Mahal, Stevie Ray Vaughan and B.B. King. A copy of Rory Block’s Best Blues and Originals becomes an important early influence, leading her to explore delta blues and the work of artists including Son House, Skip James, Bessie Smith and Robert Johnson.

Her family also has longstanding connections with the United States through her great-grandfather, who works on the docks in prohibition-era New York and brings roots records back to Liverpool. That transatlantic connection, together with Liverpool’s own history as a port city, informs much of her songwriting and musical identity.

Playing style and career

Delta Maid begins performing with guitar accompaniment from her brother at her first gig, a charity show arranged by their mother. After an injury prevents him from continuing, she teaches herself guitar. As a left-handed player, she develops a distinctive finger-picking approach by adapting what she hears on Son House and Leadbelly recordings.

She studies biology and trains to become a vascular scientist before focusing on music. Early in her career she sings blues covers, then starts writing her own songs. She also writes a song with Ed Harcourt, which is accompanied by a video directed by Nick Knight. She describes herself as a solo writer and aims to have an album written entirely by her.

Performance and releases

Delta Maid performs acoustically and gains attention in folk, blues and alt.country circles. She supports artists including Turin Brakes, Retribution Gospel Choir and Megafaun, and her sound is described through the influence of both delta blues and Liverpool’s own direct, plainspoken character. She is also working on her debut album in Liverpool.