Electronic Press Kit
From intimate House Concerts to the prestigious festivals, Woody Russell delivers world-class talent for your concert event.
Who is Woody Russell?
He is an acclaimed, genre-agnostic songwriter, guitarist and vocalist known for his agile baritone and fearless guitar work.
How would you describe his musical style?
Russell’s work is immersive and boundary-crossing. His distinct style moves between Folk intimacy and Jazz-adjacent warmth to searing Blues and Alt-Rock. He is recognized as an accomplished guitarist and vocalist, while also praised for the quality of his lyric writing - prioritizing emotion, atmosphere, and vivid storytelling over convention.
Does Woody Russell have a distinct guitar style?
Yes. He is recognized for his versatile and expressive playing on both electric and acoustic guitars — including his signature “Resolectric.” His technique employs both fingerstyle and flatpicking, reflecting influences from players such as Mark Knopfler, Richard Thompson, Bruce Cockburn, Bill Frisell and John Scofield. He typically favors a rather clean, edgy and percussive tone. His style varies from bluesy swagger to angular, polyrhythmic lines, shifting between lyrical subtlety and incisive intensity.
For fans of:
Richard Thompson
David Byrne
Mark Knopfler
Nick Cave
David Bowie
Van Morrison
Bruce Cockburn
"One of the indie-music worlds most formidably gifted artists" - Top Buzz Magazine
"He aspires to more than mere entertainment; he’s aiming for musical art every time… challenging arrangements and an intelligent lyrical message distinguishes Russell’s work from a bevy of lesser talents on the scene." - The Hollywood Digest
To discuss booking, schedule interviews or other business matters, please don’t hesitate to contact us.
For a stage plot/input list, please contact us with your request as these are subject to change.
Highlights
2026 Release, Strange Tide (EP)
2026 Recipient of AACME Live Music Grant
2025 Formation of new band, Son Solitaire: debut performance in October at The Bugle Boy (WR's 20th Anniversary Show)
2024 Official Grammy Ballot for “Lifeboat” (This Is Son Solitaire), Best Alternative Music Performance
2023 Release, Essentials (Ltd Edition Compilation Album)
2023 Release, This Is Son Solitaire (EP + Videos)
2023 Release, Big Sky: Remastered Edition (Album, remastered release)
2020 Release, Still Wilson (6 Single+Video project)
2019 Top 10 Austin Music Awards Poll - Songwriter Category
2017 - ongoing, Soldier Songs and Voices workshops featured artist
2017- ongoing, Swan Songs Artist and Spokesperson *read more about Swan Songs
2016-18 Texas Commission On The Arts Touring Roster Official Artist
2016 Finalist - USA Songwriting Competition
2016 Listening Room Festival Featured Artist
2016 Release, Carry It Up (Album, with successful Pledge Music campaign)
2015 Finalist - International Acoustic Music Awards
2014 Release, It Came Upon A Midnight Clear + Go Tell It on The Mountain (Holiday Singles)
2014 Honorable Mention - International Songwriting Competition
2013 Recipient of the Bugle Boy “Founder’s Choice Talent Trust Award”
2013 Release, Delicious Days (Album + Video with successful Kickstarter campaign)
2012 Release, Big Sky (Album)
2012 Co-founder of BluzSkool, an interactive live program that encourages "Creative Courage" through musical improvisation with elementary aged children (booked at rural schools throughout Texas)
2011-12 Television: Prominently featured artist on the debut season (Sept ’11 – Sept ’12) of “Troubadour, TX”, a nationally syndicated docu-reality show that aired weekly on the CW Network in over 20 million homes
2011 Release, The Skin I'm In (Single)
2010 Release, Up Against It (Album, received substantial critical praise in national and international press (see press buzz below)
2005 Release, Salt (Album, nominated for an IMA “Album Of The Year”)
2001 Release, Time To Go (Album)
1998 Release, A Thousand One-Eighties (Album)
1996 Release, As Simple As That (Album, debut)
Continuous: Tours throughout North America at all manner of venues (clubs, house concerts, theaters) as well as major festivals (Newport Folk, NxNE, SxSW, Winterfolk, Folk Alliance, Kerrville, Sisters, Houston Int’l, Tall City Blues, & more)
Hospice Concerts:
Woody Russell works with Austin based organization, Swan Songs, to perform end of life concert requests. "These concerts are intimately powerful experiences as a performer; emotionally charged and deeply meaningful for the families, recipients and myself as an artist AND a human being. I have a great organization to thank for this connection, Swan Songs." (read more)
- 200+ performances per year (includes gigs as a guest guitarist for other artists)
- Solo - Quintet performances
- Genre: Singer-Songwriter, Folk-Rock, Alternative Rock, Post-Punk, Folk, Blues, Jazz, Film
- Label | Publishing: CUTS Music Group
- Location: Austin, Texas USA
- Corporate and Private Events
- House Concerts, Festivals, Clubs, Listening Rooms
- Songwriting Masterclasses
- Producer
On Stage
Woody Russell, year after year, has continued with a very busy performance schedule of 200+ dates; often presented as a solo artist. However, performances continue to highlight his duo/trio arrangements and, more recently, his new band, Son Solitaire. He’s shared billing with artists ranging from Elvis Costello, Richard Thompson, Steve Earle and Paul Thorn to Jimmy Vaughan and Tommy Castro at theaters, nightclubs and major festivals, including the prestigious Newport Folk Festival. Russell is critically acclaimed as an “exemplary” guitarist, an “exceptional singer” and songwriter of the highest caliber – a “total artist package”. Respected 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.” Blues Revue offers that, as a guitarist, Russell possesses the “fearlessness" of Jeff Beck.
SON SOLITAIRE
In 2025 Woody Russell’s newest live project, Son Solitaire, was formed. It’s origin story dates back to late 2020 during the pandemic lockdown as a recording experiment which, somewhat inadvertently, also served as a disruption to Russell’s own long-standing artistic archetype. “The process of writing songs as I was recording them, alone in my home studio, was one of the most freeing creative processes that I’ve ever engaged in”, he states. “I had no preconceptions about what I was going to create. The act of simply doing it, bit by bit, led me to a sound unencumbered by any predispositions. I found new ways of navigating the music I make. I certainly didn’t plan to share this stuff with anyone. It was a very solitary endeavor, as if I'd set sail alone with no destination in mind, like a child at play."
A three song EP, This Is Son Solitaire, was eventually released late in 2023. In 2024, the EP found its way on to the Official 67th Annual Grammy Ballot for Best Alternative Music Performance alongside one of Russell’s heroes; the legendary, multidisciplinary artist, Nick Cave. “That was a personally symbolic moment, a kind of baptism for Son Solitaire, to be named among that list of artists.” Woody Russell has since elevated the project from its solitary studio roots to a live band crafting new music which is not beholden to any singular sonic imprint. Son Solitaire is a purposefully more emphatic expression of Russell’s sophisticated writing; one that ebbs and flows through often dark narratives.
Live, Son Solitaire performances spiral out from an intersection of intimate musings, cinematic atmospheres, gothic blues and angular, fuzzed-out alt-rock. The band, as a core trio, highlights Russell’s capabilities as a fearless guitarist and a gifted raconteur ruminating in the company of the explosive, yet sympathetic, rhythm section of Greg Madianos (bass, keys) and Ethan Herr (drums). Rounding out a quartet variation of the group is the addition of John Spears (trumpet, sax, keys), who conjures up equal doses of gentle lyricism and frenetic wailing.
New Son Solitaire website, videos, recordings and other content coming in 2026.
On Record
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.”
Reviews
GALLERY
