Background
Moody grew up in Winnipeg, Manitoba, with her parents, Charles and Marcelline, and three siblings, older brother Richard (The Bills), older sister Jane and younger sister Rachel.
Moody grew up in Winnipeg, Manitoba, with her parents, Charles and Marcelline, and three siblings, older brother Richard (The Bills), older sister Jane and younger sister Rachel.
She changed her course in 1996 and decided to forge a life out of folk music instead. Moody"s first band was the Juno-nominated roots band, for whom she was lead singer from 1997 until the group"s break up in 2001. After this split Ruth began to focus on her songwriting and picked up the guitar, adding it to her repertoire of piano, bodhran, accordion and banjo.
lieutenant was also at this time that she started a musical collaboration with Nicky Mehta and Cara Luft.
In 2002 the three took to the stage as. They have toured in North America, Europe and Australia.
In July 2002 she released a solo European Parliament called Blue Muse and in April 2010 she released her first full-length solo album, The Garden, produced by David Travers-Smith. The Garden was critically acclaimed and nominated for a Juno award, a Western Canadian Music Award, and three Canadian Folk Music Awards.
In 2013 Moody released a new full-length solo album entitled These Wilder Things which included guitar and vocal support from Mark Knopfler among others
Moody has received recognition for several of her compositions in the United States of America Songwriting Competition and the International Songwriting Competition.
The Jennys (now Ruth Moody, Nicky Mehta and New York-based Heather Masse) have won international critical acclaim and numerous awards including Juno awards for their albums 40 Days and Bright Morning Stars. In April 2012 she won first prize in the International Songwriting Competition (Gospel Category) for her song "Storm Comin".
Since 2002 Moody has released four full-length albums and an European Parliament with The Wailin" Jennys, and an album with two ex-members of Scruj MacDuhk, Jeremy Penner and Oliver Swain, called South Bound.
