Ruth Moody is a Canadian soprano singer-songwriter and member of the folk trio the Wailin' Jennys. Moody was born in Australia and grew up in

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...

, Manitoba, Canada, with her parents Charles and Marcelline, older brother Richard (The Bills), older sister Jane and younger sister Rachel. She was trained classically from the age of four, but unlike her sisters and brother she did not take to a stringed instrument and from her mid-teens began to train vocally instead. In 1993 she began to study English and French literature at university with the intent of becoming a teacher like both her parents. She changed her course in 1996 and decided to forge a life in

folk music Folk music is a music genre that includes #Traditional folk music, traditional folk music and the Contemporary folk music, contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be ca ...

instead. Moody's first band was the Juno-nominated roots band Scruj MacDuhk, for whom she was lead singer from 1997 until the group's break up in 2001. After this split she began to focus on her songwriting and picked up the guitar, adding it to her repertoire of piano, bodhran,

accordion Accordions (from 19th-century German language, German ', from '—"musical chord, concord of sounds") are a family of box-shaped musical instruments of the bellows-driven free reed aerophone type (producing sound as air flows past a Reed (mou ...

and

banjo The banjo is a stringed instrument with a thin membrane stretched over a frame or cavity to form a resonator. The membrane is typically circular, and in modern forms is usually made of plastic, where early membranes were made of animal skin. ...

. It was also at this time that she started a musical collaboration with Nicky Mehta and Cara Luft. In 2002 the three took to the stage as the Wailin' Jennys. The Jennys (now Ruth Moody, Nicky Mehta and New York-based

Heather Masse Heather Masse is an American alto singer and member of the Canadian folk trio The Wailin' Jennys. She was born and grew up in Maine, and studied at the New England Conservatory of Music as a jazz singer. She is currently based in Taos, New Mexico ...

) have won international critical acclaim and numerous awards including

Juno award The Juno Awards (stylized as JUNOS), or simply known as the Junos, are awards presented by Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences to recognize outstanding achievements in Canada's mu ...

s for their albums '' 40 Days'' and ''Bright Morning Stars''. They have toured in North America, Europe and Australia. Since 2002, Moody has released four full-length albums and an EP with the Wailin' Jennys, and an album with two ex-members of Scruj MacDuhk, Jeremy Penner and Oliver Swain, called ''South Bound''. In July 2002 she released a solo EP called ''Blue Muse'' and in April 2010 she released her first full-length solo album, ''The Garden'', produced by David Travers-Smith. ''The Garden'' was critically acclaimed and nominated for a Juno award, a Western Canadian Music Award, and three Canadian Folk Music Awards. In 2013, Moody released a new full-length solo album entitled ''These Wilder Things'' which included guitar and vocal support from

Mark Knopfler Mark Freuder Knopfler OBE (born 12 August 1949) is a British musician. He was the lead guitarist, singer and songwriter of the rock band Dire Straits from 1977 to 1995, and he is the one of the two members who stayed during the band's existence ...

among others. She also released a split 7-inch single with Old Man Luedecke in 2014 entitled "Far and Wide". The album was again produced by David Travers-Smith. In 2015, Moody recorded a duet with

entitled "Wherever I Go", which subsequently appeared on his 2015 release, '' Tracker''. She has toured as direct support for Knopfler a number of times in Europe and has appeared on stage with him for a handful of shows in the US and Europe. Since the release of "These Wilder Things" in 2013, Moody has been touring throughout the world as both a solo artist and with her own band or with the Wailin' Jennys. Moody has received recognition for several of her compositions in the USA Songwriting Competition and the

International Songwriting Competition The International Songwriting Competition (ISC), founded in 2002, is an annual songwriting contest for both amateur and professional songwriters. There is no physical event to attend as the competition is held online, and anyone in the world can en ...

. In April 2012 she won first prize in the International Songwriting Competition (Gospel Category) for her song "Storm Comin". At the 20th Canadian Folk Music Awards, she won the award for English Songwriter of the Year for her album ''Wanderer''.Kerry Doole
"Canadian Folk Music Awards Turn 20: Full Winners List"
''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'', April 8, 2025.

Discography

Scruj MacDuhk

* ''Live at the West End Cultural Centre'' (1997) * ''The Road to Canso'' (1999)

Solo

* ''Blue Muse'' (2002) – Solo EP * ''The Garden'' (2010) – Solo album * ''These Wilder Things'' (2013) – Solo album * ''Wanderer'' (2024) – Solo album

The Wailin' Jennys

* '' The Wailin' Jennys'' (2002) * '' 40 Days'' (2004) * ''

Firecracker A firecracker (cracker, noise maker, banger) is a small explosive device primarily designed to produce a large amount of noise, especially in the form of a loud bang, usually for celebration or entertainment; any visual effect is incidental to ...

'' (2006) * '' Live at the Mauch Chunk Opera House'' (2009) * '' Bright Morning Stars'' (2011) * '' Fifteen'' (2017)

Other recordings

* ''South Bound'' (2003) – album by Moody Penner and Swain * ''Putumayo – Women of the World Acoustic'' (2007) – with the Wailin' Jennys – compilation featuring Moody's "One Voice" * ''Down at the Sea Hotel'' (2007) – with the Wailin' Jennys – compilation of lullabies featuring Red House Records artists * ''

Privateering A privateer is a private person or vessel which engages in commerce raiding under a commission of war. Since Piracy, robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sover ...

'' (2012) – guest vocals with

* Far and Wide (2014) – split 7-inch with Old Man Luedecke * '' Tracker'' (2015) – duet with Mark Knopfler on "Wherever I Go"; backing vocals on "Basil", "Skydiver" and "Long Cool Girl"

References

External links

Official website

The Wailin' Jennys official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Moody, Ruth Year of birth missing (living people) Living people 21st-century Canadian violinists and fiddlers Bodhrán players Canadian folk violinists Canadian women folk guitarists Canadian women singer-songwriters 21st-century Canadian singer-songwriters Canadian women violinists and fiddlers Musicians from Winnipeg The Wailin' Jennys members Canadian indie folk musicians Singers from Manitoba Canadian Folk Music Award winners