Maria Woodford has never been interested in staying politely inside a genre, or, for that matter, doing anything the way it has always been done.

Her relationship with the late ’90s/early 00s anti-folk scene, nearly a decade on the road with Alex Radus as the acoustic duo Duende, and years spent studying traditional American music have all shaped a musical language rooted in the grit of blues, the storytelling of folk, and her love for the freedom and interplay of jazz.

That same freedom carries into her live performances. Woodford is an instinctive interpreter, surrounding herself with musicians who listen, improvise, and respond in the moment. Songs are given room to breathe and change, making the exchange between voice, players, and audience as important as what is written on the page.

After decades of writing, performing, and teaching, and some years spent away from the stage to raise her children, Woodford returned to full-time music in 2024 with a different relationship to the work and why she does it. There’s deep history in the music now, but there’s a deeper mission.

Raw and unruly in one moment, an intimate whisper in the next. The voice is big. The music is restless. And the point, as ever, is to make something real happen in the room.