"I have a new theory: All you really need in life is a beautiful voice and a banjo. Alexa Woodward has both, and as she’s leaving behind her law career for music, her rise to fame should be as meteoric as that  of Vienna Teng — who gave up her software engineering career for  piano pop — if the universe has any sense of justice. Woodward is touring the country in a 1984 Westfalia to support her new, sophomore CD, Speck. There’s something totally disarming about the way Woodward sings, with a roundness to her voice that plainly bears the mark of a Southern upbringing. But unlike delicate  chanteuse Gillian Welch’s sepia-toned obsession with a bygone era, you don’t get the sense that Woodward needs a vintage dress to create authenticity. She surrounds her voice with plucky banjo, singing saw and wistful mandolin, which give her songs a gothic quality, as on “Spoon,” a song with lyrics as cryptic as those of Joanna Newsom.  But to Woodward’s credit, her music is nowhere near as indulgent.  For all the spare arrangements and spacious melodies, it’s her voice that takes the stage."
-Vanessa Salvia, EUGENE WEEKLY


"Woodward’s songs are like mountain music with an MFA. References to Tolstoy and Harper Lee slip into her dark-hued, old-timey tunes; however, she’s doesn’t sound liked an affected musical anthropologist appropriating native backwoods sounds. Although based out of New York City, Woodward grew up in Virginia and South Carolina so there is an easy naturalness to her rural porch music... Alexa Woodward impresses both  in concert and on disc, making her someone for Americana connoisseurs  to keep an eye on."
 -- Michael Berick, NO DEPRESSION

"With banjo in hand and melodious pipes, Alexa transcends the framework of her songs and takes the listener into a world where only an experience storyteller can travel... a sophisticated songwriter who doesn’t sell her audience short. She gives listeners the opportunity to think while listening; to identify with her pain, loss, joy, suffering, and strength. You feel intimately aware of Alexa when the album is complete. A folk singer cannot ask for any more – an audience that is now one kindred spirit with the artist."
----CHICKS WITH GUNS


"Alexa Woodward is becoming more of a common name on the folk scene with the release of her sophomore record Speck. She sings flawlessly, as she strums her banjo to songs about loss and hope. Speck is a record that when you hear it for the first time - you just know it is good. Woodard is able to showcase her songwriting skills here as she not only displays how Americana should sound but backs it up with sheer substance!"
--THE FIRE NOTE



Comparisons abound. She’s been likened to singers such as Neko Case, Joanna Newsom, and Gillian Welch, placing Alexa Woodward in very good company. However, despite the temptation to draft countless other musical similes to describe Alexa Woodward’s playing, suffice it to say this one time lawyer is penning beautiful songs sublimely set to comfortable banjo playing and graceful vocals. “Spoon” immediately demands attention with Woodward’s strong vocals tracing out an enticing melody, which is only lent strength by her simple banjo accompaniment. As “Spoon” unfolds, the listener is greeted by Woodward’s understated individuality, whether its her quirky lyrics drawing parallels between “the moon [. . .and] a spoon you can burn from the bottom”, or her deft instrumentation which prominently focuses upon a singing saw in the middle section of the track. Look for unique live shows from this one-time New York resident, and keep an eye peeled for Speck, out now on Constant Clip records.
--STEREO SUBVERSION


"While some may compare Alexa’s vocals to the likes of Neko Case, Joanna Newsom, and Gillian Welch, upon my first listen I heard something more like Judy Garland; that is if Judy sang while playing the banjo. I’ll admit there is something about the banjo; I’m a sucker for it. Pair a great vocalist with it and I’m enraptured. Capturing another time and place, Alexa creates an almost haunting environment. Beautifully well-written, Alexa’s new album, Speck, is well worth the attention it has been receiving."
-SEATTLE SHOW GAL

"Armed with a banjo (that at times comes across more like a harp), a full, animated voice, instantly memorable lyrics and simply excellent songwriting, Alexa Woodward does it well. Each of Alexa’s songs is structured and unfolds as if spirited by an old soul, like a lost undiscovered classic. Her voice is commanding and present, colored by moderate vibrato, but maintaining the necessary clarity for imagery-heavy lyrical narratives to shine. Hers are the kind of cliché-less, sensible and immediately relatable words that sound as good advice or a great story spoken by a friend. Don’t be surprised if Alexa Woodward opens for Neko Case sometime in the near future."
-Resonance Review, JEZEBEL MUSIC



"Someone We Think You Should Know: We are very proud to share the music of Alexa Woodward with you.Woodward, 27, has a gorgeous voice. With her banjo and voice alone, she is making some of the most elegant, soft and beautiful Americana/Urban Folk music we have heard in a good while. Woodward is a banjo-playing folk maven! She received acclaim as a semifinalist in Jezebel Music's Williamsburg Live Songwriter Competition, NY's largest songwriting contest. She is also notably known for her beautiful live performances in the most unconventional places (most notably the Austin, TX sewer in January of this year. (300 brave underground attendees were politely "evacuated" through manholes by the local police.) That's giving it your all for your art!"
----RYAN'S SMASHING LIFE




"With the recent shuttering of the old Knitting Factory (which was actually the new Knitting Factory, relocated after the first one closed), I guess you officially, finally, can no longer refer to someone as a “downtown” musician. I’ve often heard that term in reference to New York musicians who aren’t from here and don’t sound like they live here now, so now that there’s no “downtown” music scene (formally anyway), what do you call someone like Alexa Woodward – from Virginia and sounding something like a cool breeze set to music? Woodward’s easygoing second album, Speck, sounds like a mildly psychedelic Gillian Welch in a self-imposed artist’s retreat.

Too many local artists get in a studio and, for the first time, can finally overpower their songs with too many guitars, too many drums, too many harmonies. The resulting albums manage to overpower the songwriting and somehow pale in comparison to a solo acoustic performance. I am thrilled to say that Speck is not one of those albums. Populated almost entirely by Woodward’s simple and compelling banjo and uniquely vibrating alto/soprano singing, the unclutteredarrangements complement the songs without burying the compellingelements of the live solo show. Opener “Spoon” gets to about the two-minute mark with just voice and banjo, and then a single harmony, acoustic guitar, and singing saw unfold into the track out of nowhere. It’s a neat trick – before the other instruments come in, the listener is almost fooled into thinking he or she is listening to somebody’s paltry demo. Later, on “Jimmy,” Woodward’s banjo is accompanied by some super-tasteful mandolin and low-in-the-mix (like, Mazzy Star low-in-the-mix) string bass. By making an album that sounds like an impromtu show in your living room, Woodward has united the relaxed feeling of sitting on the porch with the econo-necessities of making an album in the city."
by Brook Pridemore -JEZEBEL MUSIC



"Speck conjures images of rural families crowding round a crackly old radio to tap their feet and hum along."
- MAD MACKEREL