The Story

Amber Snider is an award-winning singer-songwriter from the San Francisco Bay Area with several albums, EPs, singles, and music videos to her credit. From a musical family, she began playing music at 4 and writing songs at 12, playing guitar, piano, harmonica, and more.

Amber's original song Can’t Have Just One was recently featured on the Emmy-nominated TV show Ruby and the Well. In 2023 Amber was named one of Napa Valley’s Most Intriguing list and inducted into the into the Akademia Hall of Fame. Her accolades also include a Silver at The 2022 W.A.M. Awards, Best Song honors from West Coast Songwriters and Akademia, and nominations for Best Folk/Singer-Songwriter Album (IMAs) and Best Country/Bluegrass song (IAMAs). 

Amber has performed live for over 20 years, captivating her audience with engaging storytelling and high-quality performances. She has appeared on various radio and TV shows, including KRON TV’s Best of the Bay.

Amber and The Amber Snider Band have headlined hundreds shows as well as were featured artists at the Bottle Rock Napa Valley Music Festival. She produced "For Folk's Sake! Music Festival" in 2019.

Amber and The Amber Snider Band have headlined hundreds of shows, performed at BottleRock Napa Valley, and produced the For Folk's Sake! Music Festival in 2019. Her music draws comparisons to Brandi Carlile, Natalie Merchant, Jewel, Sheryl Crow, and others, with influences spanning traditional country, blues, classic rock, and contemporary pop.

Born Amber Estrada, with little formal training beyond some piano lessons (she composed a short piece in 6th grade as a dedication to her childhood friend) and a brief stint as a clarinet player in school band, Amber learned a great deal from her musically gifted family and friends, many of whom were performing singer-songwriters and instrumentalists. She began her career performing in her parents' bands, taking on various roles such as drums, keyboards, guitars, and vocals, before pursuing solo performances and eventually forming her own band, Dilemma, and later The Amber Snider Band. As a troubled teen, Amber channeled her emotions into poetry, stories, songs, drawings, and acting in plays—a creative outlet that has remained with her.

 After studying graphic arts, web design, and theater in college, Amber moved to LA to pursue opportunities in the entertainment industry. She secured a job as a receptionist for Diane Warren, one of the most successful songwriters of all time, whose hits include Aerosmith's Don't Want To Miss A Thing, Cher's If I Could Turn Back Time, and Celine Dion's Because You Loved Me. Immersed in Diane’s creative and female-driven business, Amber drew inspiration from the experience to forge her own path as a singer-songwriter back in Northern California, where she founded Puddle Siren Music Publishing & Records. 

 In 2002, Amber self-released a 5-song EP titled Acoustic Color under the name Amber Estrada (songs recorded by Dalton Jerry). After being "discovered" at an open mic performance in Napa Valley by Jason Mori, she signed with his startup label, Shoestring Angel Records. This chance encounter led to the release of a second 5-song EP, Asleep To Dream, recorded at the famed Narada Michael Walden's Tarpan Studio in Marin, CA, and released in 2004. Vocal expert Raz Kennedy, a founding member of Bobby McFerrin's Voicetra, helped Amber prepare for the recording sessions. One track from this project was later featured in the 2011 indie film The Hunting Season.

For two years, Amber hosted various open mics in the Napa Valley and performed weekly at Downtown Joe's in Napa, both solo and with musical friends like Brooke Aved, Cooper Lenhart, and others. Her band performed under several names during this period, including The Hypnosis Company, The Overtone Series, and Mom’s Chicken Pot Pie (inspired by a sandwich board special). 

In 2009, after marrying her longtime guitarist, Aaron Snider, Amber officially changed her name to Amber Snider. Around this time, The Amber Snider Band was formed as they continued playing weekly shows at Downtown Joe's in Napa. It was during these performances that the band honed their distinctive live sound. 

 In 2010, Amber released two full-length albums: Napa City Nights LIVE 2010, a live recording, and Still Dreamin'.

In 2012, The Amber Snider Band collaborated with producer and multi-instrumentalist Gawain Mathews (former guitarist for the Mickey Hart Band, with a song featured on American Idol) to release a 7-song EP titled The Amber Snider Band. This release captured the band’s signature "Country-Pop Pie/Americana" sound—high-energy, fun yet reflective life stories told through acoustic-electric music that had become a staple at their live performances in bars, clubs, and festivals.

In 2014, Amber's band was selected to perform at the BottleRock Napa Valley Music Festival alongside artists such as LL Cool J, The Cure, Matisyahu, Heart, De La Soul, Smash Mouth, and more.

In 2015, Amber self-produced and released A Little Heart, an album showcasing a broader range of her songwriting while dedicating it to the "little heart" growing inside her. Later that year, in November, she and her husband, Aaron Snider, welcomed their first child, a daughter named Autumn.

In 2016, Amber followed with Heroes & Heartaches, a tribute album dedicated to her godfather, Francisco. This work earned her a prestigious Independent Music Award nomination for Best Folk/Singer-Songwriter Album of 2016 and won Best Song in the Folk/Singer-Songwriter category for Should've Known Better in the July 2016 Akademia Song Competition.

In 2017, following the worst wildfire disaster in California history, Amber released the single A Love Song For Humanity. Inspired by Stevie Wonder’s words at the 2017 ASCAP Expo in Los Angeles, where he told Amber and the audience, "What we need is a love song for humanity," Amber took it as a sign, finished the track, and donated all proceeds to fire victims through the end of the year.

On Thanksgiving Day 2018, Amber premiered the psychedelic, 60s-inspired music video for I Will Be True, a song that went on to become a finalist for Best Country/Bluegrass in the 2019 Independent Acoustic Music Awards.

In July 2019, Amber was a guest on San Francisco radio station KXSF 102.5. That same year, her song Bagel Song won Best Song of the Month in the West Coast Songwriters competition. Additionally, her song I Will Be True was a finalist in the 15th Annual IAMA (International Acoustic Music Awards for Best Country/Bluegrass Song of 2019. 

During the 2020 pandemic, Amber and her husband, Aaron, recorded and released Ride The Wave, a collection of 13 reflective, acoustic gems filled with intimate honesty. Remarkably, Amber was laying down tracks right up until she went into labor with their second child, Atlas, who was born that same year.

In 2022, Amber won a Silver Award in the Singer-Songwriter/Folk category at The W.A.M. Awards for her song Gravel.

In 2023, Amber and Aaron welcomed their third child, Austin. That same year, Amber was inducted into the Akademia "Hall of Fame, featured on the IndieTalk podcast, and interviewed for Behind The Song: I Will Be True.

In 2024, Amber’s original song Can’t Have Just One was featured in Season 4 of the Emmy-nominated TV show Ruby and the Well. 

Amber is currently collaborating with music supervisors to secure more song placements in film and TV. She continues to develop solo material with various producers while also working with Aaron on new tracks for The Amber Snider Band.