Peggy Day has been a musician her entire life, teaching herself piano and writing her first song at age 6. Peggy, the songwriter, singer and guitarist for Peggy Day & The Gypsy Knights, grew up on a ranch in Sacramento then moved to a logging town in the Sierras as a teenager. It was there in Feather Falls that she met and married logger Jimmy Day at age 17, giving her the name she has used on stage since she started performing in her early 20s. She recorded for the first time in Santa Cruz in her late 20s and has continued playing and writing music ever since. Peggy then moved to the Russian River area in the late ‘80s and has worked as a make-up artist/stylist for television, film and photography. Peggy Day & The Gypsy Knights’ new CD, “It’s All About Love,” was recently recorded at Dirt Road Studios in Guerneville.

Over the last 20 years, Peggy has written more than 80 songs, delivering them in her own unique style she calls original Gypsy Rock. She creates this sound by melding influences from Middle Eastern, Latin, rock and blues rhythms. It was when current lead guitarist and backing vocalist Garth O’Brien first met Peggy in 2000 and asked her to define her particular style that she clearly identified this sound, and thus Peggy Day & The Knights became Peggy Day & The Gypsy Knights. The band also features Skeer on fretless bass and backing vocals and Scott Taylor on drums.

Peggy worked one year for rock promoter Chet Helms and played at his birthday party.  Vince Welnick, former Grateful Dead keyboardist, once played with her at the Highland Dell in Monte Rio in the late ‘90s. She has also performed with artists such as Country Joe McDonald, Merle Saunders, songwriter Dewey Terry, Barbara Mauritz of Lamb, in addition to many more great musicians.

Some of Peggy’s past performances include fundraisers for Congresswoman Lynn Woolsey and Sonoma County Supervisor Mike Reilley as well as the Congresswoman’s birthday party. She has also played at Wavey Gravy’s Hog Farm in Laytonville, local wineries such as Paradise Ridge, Kendall Jackson and Rodney Strong as well as the Harmony Fair, the KGGV Strawberry Festival and the Los Altos Fall Festival. Other local venues she’s performed at include the Bohemian Grove, Stumptown Brewery, Sonoma County Fairgrounds, Sweetwater in Mill Valley, Mark West Lodge’s Hummingbird Gardens, the Ace in the Hole Pub and the Rio Nido Roadhouse, among many others. Peggy has also played live on the radio in BC 101.7 Chly FM and from the Performing Arts Center in Guerneville on KGGV FM.

Peggy sees her music spanning generations, helping people think positively and feel better as they try to get through difficult times. Her goal now is to grow her audience and reach more listeners by playing larger venues and opening for well-known acts.

“I want the whole world to get the message: It’s all about love.”