'Down-to-earth words, rugged beauty in the voice'
Photo courtesy of Carol Mac Photography
A seasoned writer and performer in both Europe and America, Mandy Woods has spent most of her adult life giving in to wanderlust and crafting songs wherever she has happened to find herself on her unconventional journey, many of them telling stories - about the ups and downs of relationships, about her own and other people's struggles and quests, and about the myriad other twists of fate that have inspired her imagination.
Mandy grew up near Oxford, England, but spent a decade in Austin, Texas, where she sang with fellow singer-songwriter Lara Linette Straughan. After a number of years back in the UK, she made a return visit to the States in 2010, drawn to Nashville, Tennessee, where she wrote several songs with singer-songwriter Terri Calderon. She has since been back to Nashville several times to write and perform.
Mandy has performed in the UK with accomplished guitarist Harry Brzezinski; with Amanda Burgess in the duo Bluebird; with Jayne Ingles in Yellow Rose; and with Annie Greig in The Mockingbirds. She has played a number of gigs with talented Brighton-based multi-instrumentalist Charlotte Glasson.
The title track from Mandy's CD All Along, recorded in London and Florida, earned an Honorable Placement in the International Song of the Year competition, and the following year her song 'Bitter and Twisted' found recognition with GD78 Music. As a songwriter, she has a strong relationship with the Nashville-based Merf Music Group.
Through her Wags Lyrical website, Mandy also writes customised songs about dogs and their besotted humans - her commissions to date include a song she wrote for a canine-loving couple in Florida that's subsequently become popular on YouTube, and that can be heard on the Wags Lyrical website.
Mandy grew up near Oxford, England, but spent a decade in Austin, Texas, where she sang with fellow singer-songwriter Lara Linette Straughan. After a number of years back in the UK, she made a return visit to the States in 2010, drawn to Nashville, Tennessee, where she wrote several songs with singer-songwriter Terri Calderon. She has since been back to Nashville several times to write and perform.
Mandy has performed in the UK with accomplished guitarist Harry Brzezinski; with Amanda Burgess in the duo Bluebird; with Jayne Ingles in Yellow Rose; and with Annie Greig in The Mockingbirds. She has played a number of gigs with talented Brighton-based multi-instrumentalist Charlotte Glasson.
The title track from Mandy's CD All Along, recorded in London and Florida, earned an Honorable Placement in the International Song of the Year competition, and the following year her song 'Bitter and Twisted' found recognition with GD78 Music. As a songwriter, she has a strong relationship with the Nashville-based Merf Music Group.
Through her Wags Lyrical website, Mandy also writes customised songs about dogs and their besotted humans - her commissions to date include a song she wrote for a canine-loving couple in Florida that's subsequently become popular on YouTube, and that can be heard on the Wags Lyrical website.
Fourth of July Transatlantic Zoom Session
I’ve invited some of my musical friends with connections across the pond to join me in a transatlantic Zoom session on the Fourth of July, at 7.30 p.m. UK time (2.30 p.m. ET), and we’d love it if you’d join us as audience! The lineup is Dave Mason (newly relocated to the UK from Ohio), Mary Ann McAllister (performing from her amazing log cabin in Maryland), Nancy Scott (a longtime friend from Austin, Texas, now living in Red Rock), Keith Goggin (fabulous singer-songwriter from the USA), and Lara Linette Straughan (another longtime friend from my Austin days, now living in El Paso, Texas). We’ll be playing a mixture of original songs and covers, and talking about them in between, from 7.30 p.m. in the UK on Sunday, 4th July. Hope to see you there (send me a message via the Contact tab for the Zoom details)!
Cabin Fever: 15 songs recorded in lockdown
Mandy's new album, Cabin Fever, a collection of fifteen original songs recorded in her log cabin studio during the lockdowns of 2020 and 2021, was released on 22 February, and is available as both a CD and a digital download via Bandcamp.
This is a really enjoyable album that is perfect listening equally on a cold winter’s night or on a summer’s evening under the stars, highly recommended - Graham Steel, GSMC