Ruth Wyand

American guitarist, singer and songwriter Ruth Wyand draws on swing, country, folk and American roots music to create her original songs. She's also an accomplished fingerstyle guitarist and dobro player.

Ruth has been playing as a professional musician since the age of 15, both in bands and as a solo artist in the USA and Europe. A few years ago she decided to quite the club (bar) scene and devote her time to developing her acoustic fingerstyle playing, and writing her own music. To finance her dream she took a job as a stagehand, acting as roadie, lighting and audio person for acts such as Tom Jones, Britney Spears, Janet Jackson and the Moscow Ballet. She was able to build her own studio, and released three CD's out on her Bay Rat Record label: The Ruth Wyand Band "Living In Doubt";

Ruth Wyand "Live at The Mermaid", and "Distant Drums". She will be touring NZ with a new CD and live DVD.

The first thing that strikes you when listening to Ruth is her powerful playing on guitar and dobro. Her fingerstyle technique has great latitude due to the variety of tunings she uses, combined with swing picking and slide guitar. Ruth also has a fine voice, and the songs she writes reflect her humorous personality and compassionate nature.

"Her vocal range is limitless, and her delivery is heartfelt without sounding desperate. What really sets Wyand apart from her contemporaries is her deft manipulation of the guitar"
-- Angelina Scioll - The Phila. Music Forum

"A remarkable guitarist and slide player, Ruth used both a 1947 Gibson acoustic and a 1932 Dobro during her show, the old instruments lending themselves very much to Ruth's style".
-- Alberta & Mississippi Bill- Boston Target Newspaper, Lincolnshire UK

"...with her polished yet fiery guitar playing and gutsy vocals Wyand commands respect among the most discerning members of a mostly male
- Allissa Wolf - The Philadelphia Inquirer

"Wyand's lyrics don't just describe situations: they create moods - as does her music"
-- Peter Key - Atlantic City Press

"Wyand's rootsy approach to songwriting encompasses a broad range... Swing, country and folk"
-- Eric Fine - Press of Atlantic City

Ruth Wyand toured NZ for the first time in 2004 and returns for her second New Zealand tour in April 2006.

From her first NZ tour:
There was a small discerning (to quote Roger) audience at the bunker last night for Ruth Wyand's concert. A pity because she's such a great guitarist in a world where accomplished women guitarists are still few and far between. Her interesting use of open tunings, clawhammer, harmonics and drumbeats on the guitar kept the audience totally absorbed and enchanted. Many of the songs were her own with an interesting little blues number about confession (she was raised catholic too, like many of us) called 'Angel Without Wings' the first track on her latest album, 'Distant Drums'. Her covers included Lucinda William's 'Sweet Old World' with her own guitar arrangement and she blew our socks off with 'Guilty' which she said she hadn't played for fifteen years (since she entered rehab...joke). Her rather unexpected inclusion of the 'House of the Rising Sun' she played in original New Orleans blues (cajun?) style in an attempt to get back to the original which she claims was written by a woman. One would have had to have been in New Orleans some decades ago I think to hear it as she played it.

Her voice which has some great, southern, gutteral intonations as well as some sweet high notes was subtley enhanced by Dave's work on his cute, state of the art, sound lap-deck. Some sensitive dampening down of the guitar in one or two songs surprised her to comment happily, "No one has done that before."

Someone once described blues players, not sure it was on this list, as dark, brooding types with lines in their foreheads. Ruth came close to the stereotype except for the lines and her occasional brilliant smile. She's the only woman I've ever seen who works up a sweat playing the guitar. I'm looking forward to her return to NZ
-- Judith McNeill, NZ Folk List 2004