WOODY RUSSELL

"AN INEXTRICABLY TANGLED MYRIAD OF INSPIRATIONS"

Woody Russell is an acclaimed, genre-agnostic singer-songwriter and accomplished guitarist. His distinct style moves between Folk intimacy and Jazz-adjacent warmth to searing Blues and Alt-Rock. Blues Revue once likened his “fearless” guitar work to that of the legendary guitarist, Jeff Beck. It’s a comparison that also mirrors Russell’s restless, boundary-crossing approach to both the instrument and his songcraft.

At the heart of his work is a commitment to emotion over convention stitched together by improvisation and vivid, measured lyricism. His work is immersive, shaping its own atmosphere. “I build my universe from whatever worn threads and scattered shards connect us,” he says. As a songwriter and observer, Russell leans into vulnerability and wonder; valuing sincerity in sound, story and a shared human experience.

Sharpened early on in the Seattle clubs of the Grunge era and now deeply rooted in Austin’s eclectic creative engine, Russell is a tireless, self-described “working-class musician”.  Performing 200+ shows a year, his resume highlights include a Texas Commission on the Arts Touring Roster Artist, a prominent role on the CW Network’s, Troubadour, TX, a 2026 City Of Austin Arts Grant and an Austin Music Awards Top Ten Songwriter nod. His 2023 EP, This Is Son Solitaire, landed him on the Official 67th Annual Grammy Ballot for Best Alternative Music Performance. Now thousands of gigs in to his career, he has performed on major festival stages, including two prestigious Newport Folk appearances, as well as hundreds of clubs and intimate venues across North America and Canada. Russell has shared billing with artists ranging from Elvis Costello to Richard Thompson and Paul Thorn to Jimmy Vaughan. He is critically acclaimed as an “exemplary” guitarist, an “exceptional singer” and songwriter of the highest caliber – a “total artist package”. Music industry veteran and former President of BE Music and Entertainment, Michael Blanton, calls him “one of the best kept secrets in the world of live performance today.” 

ON RECORD… VARIATIONS

Woody Russell has released a wide-ranging catalogue of recordings he refers to as “variations”— distinct projects he views as individual artistic identities. After departing his earliest bands, his solo work began in earnest with the folk-infused debut, As Simple As That (1996), followed by two more Seattle based releases A Thousand One-Eighties (1998) and Time To Go (2001).

After relocating to Austin, Russell formed new bands and released the Americana-leaning Salt (2005), which earned an IMA “Album of the Year” nomination. His blues and soul driven Up Against It (2010) marked a stylistic shift, receiving wide airplay on blues radio and high praise from national and international press.

In 2012 Russell released Big Sky (remastered and reissued in 2023), a richly orchestrated instrumental and jazz-oriented recording. A return to recordings highlighting larger group formats explored adult rock and pop-jazz territory on Delicious Days (2013) and Carry It Up (2016).

Still Wilson (2020), a pandemic-era return to his singer-songwriter roots, features trumpeter John Spears. Offered as singles, six songs were paired with an ambitious series of music videos to accompany each of the releases over the course of several months. 

In 2023, Woody Russell released This Is Son Solitaire, an alt-rock/post-punk EP praised by The Hollywood Digest for aspiring “to more than mere entertainment.”  A second entry in 2023 was the limited edition compilation, Essentials, featuring curated tracks from every release between Salt and Big Sky - Remastered Edition albums.