Whitney Mann
Madison, Wisconsin, United States | SELF
Music
Press
Please visit the Media page as WhitneyMannMusic.com for full list - Various
"Whitney Mann's music is so rich in Appalachian Americana, we believe she may be one of the lost descendants of the Carter family." - KnoxMusicToday.com
"this Wisconsin singer-songwriter arranges the tune with pleasing acoustic instruments to complement the natural warmth in her voice." - CMT.com
"this Wisconsin singer-songwriter arranges the tune with pleasing acoustic instruments to complement the natural warmth in her voice." - CMT.com
"Whitney Mann is a Midwest farm girl who found her identity singing, and she might become the biggest country music star Madison's ever had." - Isthmus
"her biggest asset, her voice, which has echoes of Dolly Parton and Kasey Chambers and even occasionally the cracked regret of Tim Hardin, is utterly convincing... her melodies are to die for and she looks set to be one of the major names on the Americana scene." - AmericanaUK.com
"a voice that's as vulnerable as it is tough. Her songs tell the bittersweet, head-held-high tales of poverty and broken hearts" - The Capital Times
"Madison alt-country songstress Whitney Mann has established herself as a smart songwriter with a crystalline voice on 2009's splendid The Way Back Home EP"
- The Onion (AV Club Madison)
"flashes of the Patty Griffin’s world-weary pop, the sad and ghostly whispers of Mazzy Star and Marissa Nadler, and plenty of lonesome, old-fashioned Americana that’s a bit reminiscent of a Kasey Chambers tune or even a hollowed-out, mellowed-out Dolly Parton track." - TheDailyPage.com
"The Way Back Home" shines with soul and sass, reminiscent of Jenny Lewis and Kasey Chambers. Mann drapes her bittersweet lyrics with sticky tenderness and wails like a woman scorned but proud. Her singing is wonderfully expressive, sometimes smoky and sometimes high-strung and bent with bluesy insistence." - Wisconsin State Journal
"Her music is a blend of well crafted acoustic folk songs with a classic country style. While listening to the EP, I could imagine myself sitting in a rustic honky-tonk listening to Whitney belt out any of the six tracks on this EP. Whitney has a voice that carries the emotion you can tell she puts into her captivating lyrics and melodies. Her band backs her up perfectly. If you enjoy listening to “real” country music, then you need to check out Whitney Mann’s The Way Back Home." - Beetcafe.com
"The six song EP is filled with wonderful songs. Each a mini novel in itself." - The Americana Gazette
"2009 saw Whitney Mann release her debut EP which was met with a great deal of local critical acclaim. The release and its six tracks of pensive, back road dirges are perfect for a chilly fall night with a wet quilt of leaves covering the ground. Mann uses those songs to enchant the audience and bring them along as she travels those roads. I consider her one of Madison's must-see artists" - Dane101.com
Discography
The Way Back Home (E.P.) May 2009
Radio play on WMMM, WMSE, WUWM, WHYS, WORT, WCSR, WNUR
The Western Sky (EP) May 2011
Radio play on WMMM, WUWM, WORT, WCSR,
PRESS:
Isthmus Cover Story: http://www.thedailypage.com/isthmus/article.php?article=33971
“Whitney Mann is a Midwest farm girl who found her identity singing, and she might become the biggest country music star Madison's ever had.”
Video Premiere from American Songwriter: http://www.americansongwriter.com/2011/05/video-premiere-whitney-mann-miss-you-on-the-farm/
"Whitney Mann is the best kept secret in Wisconsin." "She's raw, she's real. Whitney sings and writes from the heart, you can't ask for more than that in a musician." –John T Selman, Production Manager, Willie Nelson and Family
"Whitney has one of the most pure and emotionally charged voices that I have ever heard. Her ability to immediately connect with audiences is a rare quality that will allow her to build a very large fan base...quickly."
–Don Kronberg, President, NiteLite Productions
“as comfy as a living-room couch. Rootsy and charming.” –Music Row
This farm girl writes form the heart with honest and true country lyrics on every song. In a country music world where so much is damn near rock and roll, this album is a breath of fresh air. – Tannehill Trader
4 stars
“Whitney writes classic country songs, not the kind of confectionery-flavoured ditties turned out 9-to-5 on Music Row, but raw and honest vignettes of real life and people. Definitely a record that grows with repeated playing and one to return to often. “ Maverick Magazine
“Throughout The Western Sky, Whitney Mann’s voice is a balance of grace and grit. The song that has the largest country influence is “Home,” a throwback tune that could’ve been played on the Opry stage decades agoa collection that showcases her talents as a vocalist as well as a truly unique songwriter.” – Performer Magazine
“Whitney Mann has one of those mesmerizing voices that can stop table chatter and glass clinking in a coffeehouse or a crowded bar” –Wisconsin State Journal
Photos
Bio
www.WhitneyMannMusic.com
Whitney Mann is an old soul with a child’s glow. Her story is only beginning. It’s the story of a poetic farm girl from Michigan who grew up to open for Loretta Lynn. It’s the story of a young woman whose voice will break your heart but whose songs will bring you back for more. Her new package of country ballads and barn tales is called The Western Sky.
“Whitney Mann is the best kept secret in Wisconsin,” says Willie Nelson Production Manager John T. Selman, who watched 26-year-old Mann open for Nelson. “She’s raw, she’s real. Whitney sings and writes from the heart. You can’t ask for more than that from a musician.”
Listening to The Western Sky is like admiring a spread of framed photos arranged on top of an old upright piano. It’s a harvest of emotions and devotions to all things home.
“Home” is The Western Sky’s second track. Comfort food of the highest order. “The song describes a place where everything feels easy and comfortable,” says Mann. “The song is about finding a place that leaves you feeling at peace.” It’s a jaunty track that Dolly and Porter would have felt at home with in 1971.
Mann says she doesn’t intentionally write country music. “My songs just turn out that way.” The reason may be because she has no choice in the matter. It’s in her bones. Mann grew up on her father’s farm in southern Michigan. Township population: 400. Country music on the radio. Mom on piano at church on Sunday mornings.
These are the kinds of experiences that lead people to good things. They’ve led Mann to a country voice that is growing in strength by the hour.
“Whitney has one of the most pure and emotionally charged voices I’ve ever heard,” says Don Kronberg, promoter for Willie Nelson, Loretta Lynn and George Jones tours. He’s the guy who booked her to open different programs for all three country giants. “Her ability to immediately connect with audiences is a rare quality that will allow her to build a very large fan base…quickly.”
It’s only a matter of time before those with talent as large as her own will be opening shows for her. Meanwhile Mann headlines all around the Midwest. She and her band also continue to be a go-to opening act for some of the Midwest’s most treasured contemporary singer-songwriters, artists like gifted Chicago troubadour Joe Pug.
Mann is captivating as a soloist but she’s smart enough to surround herself with musicians who seem to understand, to the note, the consequences of what she sings about. Adam Cargin’s snare drum inserts an evocative, sad military feel to “Miss You on the Farm.” The song is Mann’s ode to her grandpa, a World War II vet.
Husband and wife team Chris Wagoner and Mary Gaines keep it all in the family on mandolin, fiddle, cello, accordian and supporting vocals.
There’s a great photo of Whitney and Loretta chatting in the dressing room before their show last winter. Two generations of country girls shooting the breeze. It’s the kind of picture that’s destined for a piano top. No one would ever claim looking at it that Whitney will be the next Loretta. But damn. She may be the next best thing.
Andy Moore
Contributing Writer, No Depression
Producer, Wisconsin Public Television’s 30 Minute Music Hour
Links
