Last summer Wendy married the love of her life, Ryan Doty, and on June 11th, they welcomed their first son, Charlie into the world! And between those two blessed dates, she completed and released her newest and most acclaimed album, “No Moment But Now” all the while continuing to perform for enthusiastic audiences across the US.
“No Moment But Now” has songs simultaneously featured on Apple Music’s “Hot Tracks” and “Breaking Singer Songwriter Playlist, “as well as Spotify’s “Fresh Folk” playlist. Wendy is garnering critical acclaim from multiple outlets including the New York Times (describing her music as “ethereal”), received a 2016 Black Fret Major Grant and she was selected as a 2017 Kerrville Folk Festival New Folk Finalist. The Austin American-Statesman long ago recognized Wendy as “Austin’s Best Singer/Songwriter.”
She’s currently enjoying a bit of a slower pace at her new home with her family in San Marcos, performing limited shows across her home region.
More About Wendy:
The Austin-American Statesman wrote “Wendy Colonna is not just a singer-songwriter, she’s a force of nature.” Hailing from the gulf coast of Louisiana and calling Austin, TX home since 2000, Colonna is a regular southern renaissance woman: a seasoned troubadour, yogi, bookworm, adventurer, pollination ecology-enthusiast and hula-hooper. But it’s her songwriting and voice that draw in audiences in like bees to nectar.
Wendy’s resonant, signature voice is grit-infused-honey and her songs echo swampy southern tales of loss, mortality, joy, reclaimed innocence and celebration. With ease, she moves from a sweet whisper to a full on bayou-soul-shout without skipping a beat.
Since 2002, Colonna has released seven acclaimed albums and is currently working on release number eight. Since 2013, Wendy’s been writing custom songs for folks like The Southwest Louisiana Tourist Bureau and Coca-Cola.
In 2014, Coca-Cola released an advertisement with a song which was written and performed by Wendy that made it to the top of AdWeek. The ad has been warmly received by critics and fans with over 175k YouTube views. Wendy has released a full length single of the song, “A Happy Song” exclusively on iTunes.
Though she’s lived in Austin for many years, her ties to Louisiana are still deep. In 2015 the Southwest Louisiana Tourist Bureau asked Colonna to write a custom song capturing the pulse of every day life in the region called “My Southwest Louisiana Home.” The song and accompanying video swept the Regional Addy Awards, winning four gold placements and “Best in Show”.
Colonna’s 2014 release, Nectar, has had coverage by many notable media outlets including the Wall Street Journal, Huffington Post, American Songwriter, NPR’s Beale Street Caravan, No Depression, Lone Star Music, Buddy Magazine, (cover story), WFUV’s Sunday Breakfast (NYC) and more. Even Starbucks joined in, placing songs from Nectar in heavy in-store rotation across the US.
