My new song City Girls out! It’s my homage to growing up in city from the point of view of a woman passing the torch to a younger generation of girls finding their path. Where the sandboxes and subways shape you, and every street corner has something to teach you.
My new song Lady in Waiting is out. I’ve waited. Most of us have waited. For life to begin or re-begin. For drops of illumination, clarity, change, freedom. I didn’t think this song was about me while writing it. It was about the women I’ve watched at a distance on the NYC subway or the streets of Nairobi. I am sometimes paralyzed with empathy or love and want to hold their hands and just hang out. My friend David Garza brought this idea to me. He said, “you are all of these women. They guide you, us, everyone.” The song wrote itself as I deep dived into where I’d been in this world and what I absorbed without even knowing it.
The 2nd single Clenched Fists from my forthcoming album Stories From The Dust is out. It is the story of 4 different women’s newly sought out lives. Each story represents their fight for independence or freedom. Clutching a steering wheel, a suitcase or a microphone, their two Clenched Fists sing the narrative to tell their stories.
FRAY the story: A visual deep dive into the delicate thread that holds love together, and how that same thread which bonds us can also be the source of our unraveling.
This is a film based on the story of an “unraveling” set in the landscape of music and lyrics written by Lucy Woodward & David Garza, in a song that was recorded at Sonic Ranch at the border of Texas and Mexico. The story opens up a conversation between the head and the heart, the heart being the wiser of the two. We witness the dialogue and dance unfold, as the head speaks in threads of ice blue, and the heart in threads of fiery orange.
It features Lucy dancing and entangled in thread, along with two dancers who have their own conversation with the thread as they are wrapped in a sweater made-for-two. The sweater is the centerpiece of the film, as it represents the heart and was designed and knitted to be “pulled” and unraveled in one take. It was directed, conceptualized and choreographed by Caroline Le Duc, who is also featured as one of the main dancers of the film. It also features renowned dancer and movement artist, Baptista Kawa who is a performing artist in Jacob Jonas The Company.
As Lucy attempts to wrap up and pack the different pieces of herself and a complicated love into boxes, she gets tangled in the truth, that love remains complexly intertwined … even when it’s unraveled. She observes the two dancers, that are moving in and out of connection, within the sweater made of the thread that binds them. Lucy not only observes the dancers and witnesses her own unraveling reflected in theirs, but more profoundly, she is the one pulling the thread.
The 1st single Fray off my forthcoming album Stories From The Dust is out! So many stories to share. The unraveling begins. Album out April 5, 2024.
NEW MUSIC ALERT! Big Bones! July 28! My first release since the pandemic. Have been wanting to share this for so long. I have a bunch of music I am going to be releasing this year and next but needed to get this baby out there FIRST! Big Bones is my mini-anthem about the body I was born into and the things that kept me together. Literally.
Photo by Nick Suttle / Design by Tuesday McKay
I HAD A WILD YEAR. I sang at the Tunisia Opera House and learned how to bargain with locals at the rug market. I also learned quickly that I was not particularly good at this. Vendors were quite aware of this, too and probably pitied me. Started a crazy, wild and beautiful Big Band in Europe, my 2023 adventure, where vocally I am the most colorful and expressive I have ever been. The US Embassy brought me in to work with young, devoted singers in cities such as beautiful Athens (this is really the way to learn about a culture). I sang in Romania (above photo) with 103°F fever (had Covid and didn't know it) but as Bette and Judy say, the show must go on (watch soundcheck in Romania!). Can't summarize the following quickly but: I volunteered at the Poland/Ukraine border cooking food for refugees when the war started last April. This journey was one that stuck with me the longest; still does. I think I experienced PTSD in the weeks that followed and it certainly changed my perspective on just about everything. I learned about bravery, the human spirit and how to make bread pudding for 1000 people (can’t even make bread pudding for 1). I kept thinking I would write about the kitchen but I felt I had to sort of go inward more than outward if that makes sense. Maybe one day.
JazzX Festival, Timisoara, Romania
I just got the Master back for my 5th solo album. I listened to it twice, on 2 different headphones and 2 locations - once in my house in pajamas with coffee and the other on my bike as I casually zipped around town. One listen-through is intense, zoned in, eyes closed. The other is taking in the environment. Bridges opening and closing over canals, construction site jackhammers, babies crying.
Am I background music? Do I command attention? I have no clue. But once I sign off on this album, I will never listen to it again. I’ve always done that. I don’t know if that’s weird or common. I think I read that Joni Mitchell does the same thing so I ain’t that crazy…
I call this Music and Bravery because it is scary putting out an album. Terrifying, actually. This now means that people can criticize you! Bash your songs! Compare you to others! The trolls come out! Yay! (I have the best trolls ever, by the way). I know now that it’s just a part of the industry fabric and I’ve sure as hell gotten used to it. But I’m going to try and be courageous and not invite that fear in this time round ‘cause ya look for it, it’s gonna come find ya.
I am planning to go to the Ukraine/Poland border this week (Przemysl to be exact) to volunteer with World Central Kitchen. I don’t know if it’s stupid or brave. But it’s in my heart so as of today, my flight is booked. I will chop vegetables and stir soup for 6 hours if I have to. I sometimes get a bit woozy with slight trepidation about going but I’m keeping an eye on every news pop-up and will decide based on what I feel the morning of my flight.
Putting an album out and going into a war zone are both terrifying. And for the record, I know I don’t NEED to say this because you are intelligent people reading this: I am not comparing an album release to a war. Every image of a Ukrainian refugee slices my heart. A life boiled down to what they can fit in their backpack. What would I carry in my backpack if this was my time to run in search of a new life? So, yeah. I am thinking about my fears today and what I’m willing to put on the line. How will I put one foot in front of the other…
There is a girl next to me in a coffee shop selfie-ing away. I wonder what her bravery is behind that sassy lip gloss. At the next table, 3 girls in hijabs and Converse high tops are giggling contagiously over dessert. I wonder what their bravery is. This new album is full of songs about all of these girls. How I’ve related to them in my life growing up in NYC, on tour in Europe or watching them live a different kind of life on one of my trips to Kenya. I’m singing about all of their/our bravery.
I’m going to get on my bike home now and maaaybe have 1 or 2 more listens to the new Master. This *might* be a good sign that I *think* I love my new album (did I just say that?) and for the first time in years, I am not as critical of my voice and the stories I sing. That’s my little sliver of bravery for today. Tomorrow it will hopefully be something else.
Photo by Caroline Le Duc
Each week, Beale Street Caravan brings the Sounds of Memphis to an international public radio audience. Live, concert performances from contemporary masters of blues, soul, folk, and rock n roll. Download Lucy's free live show in Memphis on iTunes! Episode #2126.
Video shot and directed by Sophie Conin and San Bhugaloo at Patronaat, Haarlem, NL.
My former boss, dear Sir Rod Stewart, a man who I learned so much from over the past 4+ years as his backup vocalist, tweeted my album. As we all know, tweets come and go so bloody fast, in the blink of an eye, they are gone. But that's what websites are for! To hold onto precious moments from incredible (and sexy) men with the absolute sharpest fashion ever ever ever...
Last week, radio stations around the country have added songs from my new album "Til They Bang On The Door" to their rotations! Listen out for it...
Check out the latest from Timucua Podcasts! The lovely and charming Dave MacDonald asks me questions about coming up in New York City, jazz school and my calling...listen HERE!
Soooo, next weekend in Miami, Snarky Puppy will be hosting the first GroundUP Music Festival for 3 days from Feb 10-12! The line up is ridiculously amazing - Esperanza Spalding Laura Mvula Nikka Costa John Medeski Bill Laurance to name a few. There will be clinics, workshops, masterclass and jams every night and I am pretty sure I will lose my voice by Monday morning. I'll be playing Feb 11 with my boys and part of a songwriting workshop with my compadres later that day. Then on Valentine's Day, I start my 2 week tour in Miami! See Tour page for more info!
Now available in ash and baby blue in all sizes on the Merch page!
Friends of Dan (podcast)
Fresh outta the tank! Dan was soooo thorough and truly did his research which was really fun for me. Thanks, Dan!
Scratch Take (podcast)
Jeremy digs deep into the stories behind the songs of recording artists and their writing. Bits and pieces of the music that shaped me are peppered into this podcast including my favorite aria from La Bohème and jingles I've recorded. Check out the other podcasts - very cool!
I have been touring all month promoting my album new album "Til They Bang On The Door" (digital or physical). Am covering some incredible ground, meeting new faces, playing with some super special groove maestros trio-style. October will be revving up the caravan once again for US Southeast tour so check out my TOUR page for more info! And if you haven't heard the album yet, go get 'er! Thank you all for supporting live music. Some of you drove long and far for these shows and I can't tell you how much I appreciate it. Be-yond.
Ahmet Ertegun kissed me in 2002. We were on the top floor of the Atlantic Records building in NYC. That kiss was a “blessing” to push you off into the world of record-making. In my case, it was my first record and I had just sang the “chosen single” 11 times that day – yup, I counted – making the rounds to different offices with my two guitar players. That “kiss” fairy-dusted a path for me into a career of singing. I shook my tambourine the whole time “la-la-la”-ing wherever possible along the way. I let it steer the heck out of me like I actually had no say in the matter.
I had no idea what kind of journey I was about to embark on – that night, that year, the next 15 years. A mix of planes, trains and automobiles in practically every part of the world. But my favorite was always this: the stinky van on long drives with fellow musicians, full of countless laugh-til-it-hurts moments; everyone speaking the same language, on-stage and off. That’s where I felt the connection, kinship, trust and belonging.
I met Michael League of Snarky Puppy a few years ago through my good friend Henry Hey. Michael played bass in my band and we had plenty of long van drives playing small clubs and theaters in support of my 2010 release for Verve. It was Mike who introduced me to the world of The Pups – my dear sweet Puppinos – inviting me up on stage to sing at their “Family Dinner” residency in NYC. “No rehearsal, Lucy. Just come up, we got you,” I remember him saying. And that they did.
At this point, I'd had a few years of flexing my muscles in the “getting dropped-and-signed, dropped-and-signed” department of the music business. My musical ears and eyes were flung open after singing one song and I thought, “Ah, okay, I get it.” I can’t actually explain it in actual words, but musicians and other creative types will know exactly what it means. Something clicks and then you just go do what you gotta do.
Yesterday, I released my 4th album, Til They Bang On The Door. Finally. I am pumped. I made a record that I am extremely proud of. It was made with friends and it feels different from everything else I've done. A typical conversation in the studio: “That feel good to you?” “Man, it sure does.” “Okay, let’s move on.”
Trusting my boys (and co-producers) Henry Hey and Michael League the whole time, my incredible NYC music community, Snarky Puppy, and – the last piece of the puzzle, my label – GroundUP Music. No bull, no need to “get this guy” or “that guy” to approve it while waiting for 2 months. Nothing like that. Just straight up, good ol’ fashioned music-making. Bars were raised.
Ahmet may have also kissed Aretha and Ruth Brown on the top floor of the Atlantic building, fairy-dusting their career paths, too. But I reeeeally hope Robert Plant is the one that kissed him back the way I almost did!
So in short, thank you for checking out Til They Bang On The Door. I really hope you enjoy this little musical journey as much as we did.
Love, Lucy
Counting down to album release date - 7/15/16! It's the last few days of the European Rod Stewart tour. We played Madrid last night at the stunning Teatro Real for a small crowd of 1700 and now we are off to Lisbon. An amazing way to wrap a tour. Working on some of my own tour dates right now for August and September along with some other albums and soundtracks I am featured on. It's all shaking up this month and the next!! Back soon. Flight to catch...
NEWS! BIG AND HAPPY NEWS! My 4th solo album 'Til They Bang On The Door' is now available for pre-order worldwide!
You receive a download of "Kiss Me Mister Histrionics" with your pre-order. Produced by Henry Hey & Michael League, mixed by Nic Hard, this album is all about making music with friends who I adore and admire. More to come...
For digital, go to iTunes
For physical, go to GroundUP Music and Amazon
Lucy featured in NYC's Downtown magazine column "Really Busy People" - READ HERE!
"Lucy Woodward’s pure, deeply appealing vocals communicate genuine cheeriness, even in a flirtatious under-the-mistletoe mood—one of the album’s many charms.“ - DownBeat
I finally made a Big Band holiday record! Bucket List check! I teamed up with the amazing arranger/composer David Ricard and just did it! It’s getting some radio play (so listen out for it) and was #1 on Amazon for “hot releases” in the Swing Jazz category (who’da thunk?) yesterday. It’s available on iTunes and Amazon digitally or if you would like a hard copy, email me via this website or on Facebook and I’ll get you one ASAP! Enjoooy!
Finally! My first European tour everrrr opening for my boys Snarky Puppy (with them as my backing band). We'll be playing songs from my new album (to be released in 2016). This is gonna be sooo gooood. UK, Brussels, France and my home country, Holland...
Watch me and my musical husband Everett Bradley sing Nina Simone's "Be My Husband" at this year's APAP conference in NYC HERE!
The Goods video "I'm So Happy That It's You!" is done. We asked a whole bunch of our male friends to help us make this video and boy, did they...Check it out here!
On set of my newest video for my song "Kiss Me, Mister Histrionics". Directed by my brother. NYC. Photo by Alex Alexander.
