Marlene (Marley) Hill – Lead vocals, background vocals, percussion, bookings
marlene@marleyhill.com
Marley began singing at the age of five for her school’s Christmas concert and she’s never looked back. A natural soprano, she went on to solo in church choirs and in community musical theatre. Her passion for all musical genres paved the way for her future.
Prior to forming The Marley Hill Band, Marley has been lead singer of a number of different bands covering blues, country, rock, motown, soul and pop music.
In the theatre world she is considered a “triple threat” as her talent encompasses singing, acting and dancing. She has many years of experience in musical theatre and has performed on a cruise line’s big stage numerous times. Marley’s diverse musical, theatrical and dance background always translates into a powerful and charismatic stage presence that never fails to connect personally with the audience.
Her love of the big stage led her to compete in several talent contests which included a successful fourth-place finish in Canada’s Open Country Singing Contest and a top-ten finish in the Nashville Country Music Television Contest. She has also auditioned for America’s Got Talent. Unfortuantely that did not pan out as well as she hoped but, hey, Lady A got turned down too 🙂
Danilo de Jesus– Lead guitar, backing vocals
Danilo was born in Brazil and moved to Canada in 2010. He started playing acoustic and electric guitar at the age of 11 inspired by guitarists like Slash, Steve Vai and Joe Satriani. He enjoys many different styles of music, from Jazz and Brazilian Bossa Nova to Progressive Metal and everything in between.
A self-taught guitarist, he is passionate about music and is always trying to expand his musical repertoire. In the past several years he has played with a number of bands in the Greater Toronto Area and is now very excited to be the lead guitarist for the Marley Hill Band.
Tim Stiff – Bass guitar, keyboard, backing vocals
Tim started playing bass when he met drummer Andy Williamson during their first year at Queen’s University, many years ago. Since that first “Frosh Week” jam session, they played in several bands during their student years, from rock to jazz and everything in between. Upon graduation, Tim and his wife Barb moved to Toronto, where he began a twenty-year run of studio sessions, jingles, concerts, broadcasts, and long-run musicals that saw him share the stage with such luminaries as David Foster, Oscar Peterson, Paul Stanley, Rene Simard, Andy Williams and Kenny Rogers. Since his return to the Kingston area, Tim has performed alongside Ryan Malcom (Canadian Idol) Emily Fennell (Miss Emily), and members of The Tragically Hip. Though his versatility has seen him sing, accompany, play keyboards, conduct, write and arrange, the Marley Hill Band has allowed Tim to come full circle and play once again with Andy, doing what he loves to do – just groove on the bass.
Andy Williamson – Drums, percussion, vocals
Andy is a multitalented singing drummer with over 43 years of experience playing a wide variety of genres and styles of popular music. Andy began studying jazz while growing up in the age of 70’s progressive rock and fusion. From 1986-1992 he was a founding member of “Big Bang Theory”, a heavy alternative act produced by recording legend Jim Dickinson that achieved cross-Canada touring success and noteworthy video rotation on Much Music. A move to South America from 1992-1995 fueled a love for Latin and Afro-Cuban music. In addition to receiving extensive vocal training during his drumming career Andy has studied with the critically acclaimed drumming instructors, Mike Johnston and Tommy Rickard, as well as Kit Chatham from Cirque du Soleil.
