Heather 'Lil' Mama' Hardy - Violins (2019)

Heather began studying the piano at the age of six and picked up the violin at nine. In 1983 she auditioned for the Manhattan School of Music as a double major on piano and violin and was accepted on both, but was required to choose only one. She began as a piano major under Zenon Fishbein and after one year realized that though piano was her great love, she was more driven on the violin. Heather returned the following year as a violin major under Raphael Bronstein.

While at school she began to play in the subway to make money while collaborating with different blues and rock musicians. This was the turning point at which she began to explore improvisation on the violin. In 1986 she studied with Julius Lyonn Lieberman, author of The Improvising Violin and also joined the False Prophets, a well-known punk rock band on Alternative Tentacles Records.

In 1989 she moved to Tucson and soon after joined the Sam Taylor Blues Band. Sam has had a major influence on Heather's career as a mentor and friend and they continue to perform together. In 1996 she released her first solo recording, Violins, to critical acclaim on Trope Records. In 1997 Heather moved to New York where she started her own band, Lil Mama and in 2000 she released her second album, I Believe.

Heather is a member of The American Roots Orchestra, Tim Beattie's Big Dog Marble and The Amazing Incredibles. She freelances throughout the New York area where she is much sought after as a musician and vocalist with an original style that shows the influences of Claude Williams, Gatemouth Brown, Papa John Creach, and Jimi Hendrix.