Alexa Woodward is an American indie/folk singer and songwriter.

Early life

Alexa Woodward was born in the state of

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

, but later on moved with her family to be raised in

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

and

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

. She attended college at Gordon College in Wenham,

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

and was a law student for three years in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. She made the transition into music after finding an old banjo her father, documentary film maker Stan Woodward, had bought but had never taken much interest in. In an interview, she spoke of the moment of inspiration saying (quote), "It really wasn't until I found the banjo that I got serious about it. I was home one Christmas and I found this banjo under the bed. I just started playing it and fell in love with it." The banjo's make was a Gibson from the early 1960s, and Woodward describes it as her main instrument she writes (her music) on "exclusively".

Music career

The early roots of Woodward's career began in Boston, where she performed her first shows in Cambridge and Somerville. However, personal issues conflicting her new music career led to her moving to New York and applying for law school there. After settling down in a community house in Manhattan, she started performing at small-time gigs around town. The "Sidewalk Cafe" restaurant/bar was where she frequented and participated in the open mic nights held there. She later ventured out to perform at other public venues such as Banjo Jim's, the

American Folk Art Museum The American Folk Art Museum is an art museum on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City, at 2 Lincoln Square, Columbus Avenue at 66th Street. It is the premier institution devoted to the aesthetic appreciation of folk art and creativ ...

Pete's Candy Store Pete's Candy Store is a New York City performing space, bar and club located in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn. It is located at 709 Lorimer Street, between Frost Street and Richardson Street. Notable acts associated with the venue include ...

, and

The Living Room The Living Room was a music venue on Metropolitan Avenue in the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn, which was originally established on Stanton Street of the Lower East Side in Manhattan, New York City in 1988. The Living Room was co-owned ...

. After completing a year of law school, Woodward headed down south to perform the

Kerrville Folk Festival The Kerrville Folk Festival is a music festival with camping, held for nearly three weeks each year, in late spring/early summer, at Quiet Valley Ranch near Kerrville, Texas. The festival draws around 30,000 people. It aims to present establish ...

in the Texas hill country. It was at that time she decided that she would make a full career out of her music. At the festival, Woodward met with other music artists who now comprise the record label Constant Clip Records, and she continues to collaborate them in producing new albums and singles to this day.

Acclaim

Woodward's very first studio album, "Speck," was released in the spring of 2009 through Constant Clip Records. She set out on her first tour a day after graduating from law school. It was a three-month-long journey across the United States with three friends and musical comrades. The tour covered New York, Texas and Seattle. Since the release of "Speck", she has performed across the United States and in other countries such as Denmark, Germany, France, and Switzerland. In 2009, she signed on to YNM management, and has performed on radio shows (

NPR National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...

, college radio, and

Adult Album Alternative Adult album alternative (also triple-A, AAA, or adult alternative) is a radio format. See pages 9 and 10Mills, Joshua. "A New Radio Music Format: Rock for Prosperous Adults" New York Times, Feb 28 1994, p. 2. ProQuest. Web. Accessed September 4, ...

stations), for video blogs, and festivals (

SXSW South by Southwest (SXSW) is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and Convention (meeting), conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Texas. It began in 1987 and has conti ...

, Old Songs Festival, and the

Oregon Country Fair The Oregon Country Fair (OCF) is a nonprofit organization and an annual three-day art and music fair held outside the city limits of Veneta, Oregon, United States. Located in the Willamette Valley, the site is about west of Eugene along the L ...

). Woodward's music has been played by over 200 college radio stations in the United States and Canada. Her songs have been featured on season six of Fox's, "

So You Think You Can Dance ''So You Think You Can Dance'' is a franchise of reality television shows in which contestants compete in dance. The first series of the franchise, created by '' Idols'' producers Simon Fuller and Nigel Lythgoe, premiered in July 2005 and has ...

" as well as on national television in Australia. The title track of her album, "Speck", is on the soundtrack for The Fat Boy Chronicles, a feature film by Tin Roof Films. Her song "Secrets" is in the closing credits of the ''

Twilight Twilight is daylight illumination produced by diffuse sky radiation when the Sun is below the horizon as sunlight from the upper atmosphere is scattered in a way that illuminates both the Earth's lower atmosphere and also the Earth's surf ...

'' (film) series documentary " Twilight in Forks". "Secrets" has also been featured on a number of commercials for the

National Geographic ''National Geographic'' (formerly ''The National Geographic Magazine'', sometimes branded as ''Nat Geo'') is an American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners. The magazine was founded in 1888 as a scholarly journal, nine ...

channel.

Discography

References

*
Alexa Woodward: Bio/Reviews
" Alexa Woodward: Bio/Reviews. Web. 18 May 2012. *
Alexa Woodward: CD Baby
" CdBaby. Web. 18 May 2012. *
Alexa Woodward: Discography
" Billboard.com. Billboard Magazine. Web. 18 May 2012. {{DEFAULTSORT:Woodward, Alexa Year of birth missing (living people) Living people American women singer-songwriters Gordon College (Massachusetts) alumni American banjoists Place of birth missing (living people) 21st-century American women Singer-songwriters from Alabama