Amy Speace is one of those musical artists who is tough to categorize. You could see her, at once, listed as pop, folk, Americana, or country.

“I consider myself Americana, straighforwardly,” Speace said, and added that she doesn’t like to be categorized as country or pop. You can hear her blend of varied sounds and judge for yourself Friday night at Kirk Avenue Music in Roanoke. Doug and Telisha Williams open the show that begins at 7:30 p.m.

Speace’s new CD, The Killer in Me, will be released in May, so attendees of the Roanoke show will get a sneak preview of songs from the CD in addition to her previous CD Songs for Bright Street. (Speace said she’s “moved on” from her first CD, Fable.)

Speace, in a phone interview with the New River Voice, said of her new CD, “It’s a full-band album that we recorded with Mitch Easter, who produced R.E.M., the dB’s, and some other people [including Suzanne Vega and Marshall Crenshaw],” she said. “It might surprise people that it’s more of a rock record. It’s a little dark around the edges. I think it’s really personal. I’m really excited about it.”

Speace, a Baltimore native, is one of myriad acts that doesn’t fit neatly into industry categories. She said most of her writing influences come from the late 1980s and early ’90s alternative rockers such as The Replacements and Matthew Sweet. She also likes the older groups with more of a folk sound such as The Band and The Byrds. “I’m also a female singer-songwriter with a guitar so you obviously can’t get past being influenced by Joni [Mitchell] and Joan [Armatrading] and the folky crowd from the 70s and 60s.”

At the same time, Speace said, she grew up with a father who loved old country music, so she’s also influenced by the likes of Dolly Parton, Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, and other classic country stars.

Speace said she loves a good story and is lyric based, which pushes her toward the folk and country comparisons, but she likes to play with a full band and really rock at times. “I’m not interested in a sheeny-shiny production,” Speace said. “I let to let the rough cracks show through. Am I looking to be Beyonce? Not really.”

Speace came to a music career rather slowly, although music has always been a major part of her life. Her parents said she began to peck out songs on the piano by ear as early as age 3 and she began piano lessons at age 5. As she got old enough for the school band, she wanted to play drums but her parents wanted her to play “girl’s instruments,” so she picked up the clarinet and saxophone. It was several years later before she finally picked up the guitar.

“I have a real tight family,” Speace said, “and while my parents weren’t musicians there was always records playing. My brothers and sisters were my playground, so we’d stay home a lot and listen to music and dance around.”

She said at Amherst College in Massachusetts she was “the girlfriend” of guys in bands — “guys in my college who were the smart, rich, white preppy guys but also had a jangle-rock band on the side.” She finally decided to borrow a boyfriend’s guitar and made him start teaching her chords. Before long she was playing three-chord songs and did it on the side for fun. But she was at Amherst as an English and Theatre double-major, and her acting leanings were strong, too. After college she said she decided to move to New York to be among all the creativity there.

“While I was there I applied to be in an acting conservatory so I had something to do with my days,” Speace said. Meanwhile she was playing guitar and writing songs. Speace said she took a circuitous route to get to where she is today, but she loves her current music career and touring around with her band, the Tearjerks.

Speace said she loves Virginia and North Carolina and tries to make it to the area every few months. She said she wants to bring her new songs to Roanoke so people can hear the new tunes and get excited about the CD coming out in May.

In addition to the Roanoke show on Friday, Speace fans can catch the act regionally at Gravity Lounge in Charlottesville on Wednesday, The Evening Muse in Charlotte, N.C., on Thursday, The Garage in Winston-Salem, N.C., on Saturday, and The Berkeley Cafe in Raleigh, N.C., on Sunday.

Tickets for the Doug and Telisha Williams/Amy Speace concert are $18 and are available by calling Kirk Avenue Music at 540.589.0546. The show begins at 7:30 p.m. at 22 Kirk Ave. in Roanoke.

Interested in FREE tickets to the Amy Speace show?!?!? The New River Voice has a limited number of tickets for the Friday show. If you’re interested in a pair of tickets, please contact editorial(at)newrivervoice.com with the subject line Amy Speace to request a pair of tickets.

Tim W. Jackson is a music fan and Editor of the New River Voice.