Timber & Nails

Mary Ann Rossoni is an incredibly dedicated songwriter. Your humble blogger goes way back with her, playing coffee houses and sitting in on songwriting critique sessions with her.

Nobody respects the song more than Mary Ann, and nobody respects the fact that songwriting is more than inspiration--it's a craft, like woodworking or acting, that requires the honing of skills.

Mary Ann has been unafraid to workshop her songs with other songwriters, listening to their praise and criticism and acting accordingly. And when she and her musical partner went their separate ways about a decade ago, she knew she had to improve her guitar and singing skills because she could really only lean on herself on-stage to deliver those precious songs.

Your humble blogger remembers that when she was approached by a record company who wanted to sign her, instead of--like many other artists--jumping at the chance, she brought in professional representation to ensure it was a fair relationship. Like with her music, she knew that good things come from hard work.

And she's not just focused on her career, she cares about others bigtime: Your humble blogger should note that when he put together compilation CDs to benefit good causes, Mary Ann was always one of the first artists to say "yes." In fact, she specially wrote one song, Emma Lee, for one of the CDs, a song she has now refined and placed on Timber & Nails, her latest release.

The Narrows welcomes her on Thursday, November 8, and we hope you'll come to the show and hear the fruits of her labors.

Read the Providence Journal's review of her new CD here. If you go here, scroll down a bit for a write-up by the Providence Phoenix.