Ruth Moody can’t wait to get on the road again with The Wailin’ Jennys.<\/p>\n
The all-female folk trio of Moody, Heather Masse and Nicky Mehta took about a one-year break from touring because Mehta gave birth to twins about eight months ago.<\/p>\n
“The break has been really good and now we are recharged,” Moody said in a phone interview Tuesday from her home in Toronto. “We are rejuvenated and have a new and exciting energy to what we are doing.”<\/p>\n
The Wailin’ Jennys perform at 7:30 p.m. April 9 at the Kent-Meridian Performing Arts Center, 10020 S.E. 256th St. They open a nationwide tour April 8 in Portland. They play in Mount Vernon and Friday Harbor after Kent and then head to North Carolina.<\/p>\n
The trio has had several Bluegrass hits. The group often is featured on “A Prairie Home Companion,” a popular National Public Radio show hosted by Garrison Keillor.<\/p>\n
In fact, The Wailin’ Jennys were in Seattle March 27 at the Paramount Theater for a live broadcast of “A Prairie Home Companion.”<\/p>\n
“We had a great time,” Moody said. “We’ve done a bunch of shows with them over the years, probably over a dozen.”<\/p>\n
Concertgoers soon discover what makes The Wailin’ Jennys so entertaining.<\/p>\n
“We are known for our three-part harmony,” Moody said. “That’s our thread throughout the show.”<\/p>\n
The trio mixes a little bit of pop, Celtic, country and jazz to give audiences a variety of songs. Many of the songs are original, since all three women are songwriters. They also perform cover songs.<\/p>\n
“We do a lot of acapella and a little humor,” Moody said. “But people really like the harmony and we do a very healthy dose of that.”<\/p>\n
In addition to singing, Moody plays guitar, accordion, banjo and bodhran (a Celtic drum). Mehta plays guitar, harmonica and a drum kit. Masse plays the upright bass. Jeremy Penner, a fiddler and mandolinist, also tours with the group.<\/p>\n
“We call him our boy Jenny,” Moody said.<\/p>\n
The variety of instruments played by the women and Penner gives the group plenty of options.<\/p>\n
“We’re pretty diverse,” Moody said. “We cover a lot of different sounds. It keeps things interesting for our fans when we can change it up.”<\/p>\n
The name of the band itself draws a lot of interest. It’s a pun on the name of country singer Waylon Jennings, and one of many names suggested by a friend of Moody and Mehta when they formed the group in 2002.<\/p>\n
“We just wanted to use our names,” Moody said. “But a friend was convinced we would go beyond that one show and said we should have a name. A lot of the names we rejected.”<\/p>\n
But Moody, Mehta and Cara Luft, who later left the trio, didn’t really think they were forming a group when they got together to sing for what they thought would be one show at a Winnipeg, Manitoba guitar shop. The solo artists were such a hit as a trio that one show sold out as well as a second show and all of a sudden the group got bookings and started to tour.<\/p>\n
“We’ve had a couple of lineup changes over the years but it’s been an amazing journey,” Moody said.<\/p>\n
The group’s most recent album is “Live at the Mauch Chunk Opera House,” recorded in 2008 at a concert in Pennsylvania and released in 2009. They plan to release a new album this fall.<\/p>\n
“We all love performing and connecting with the audience,” Moody said. “It’s a powerful experience. We’re all writers and it’s rewarding when people respond to a song you wrote. And we all love singing in harmony. That’s what keeps us going.”<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
If you go<\/p>\n
What: The Wailin’ Jennys<\/p>\n
When: 7:30 p.m. April 9<\/p>\n
Where: Kent-Meridian Performing Arts Center, 10020 S.E. 256th St.<\/p>\n
Cost: $24 general, $22 ages 55 and older, $18 ages 25 and younger<\/p>\n
Tickets: www.kentarts.com or call 253-856-5051<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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