At 22, Wimberley singer-songwriter Riley Amanda has already established herself as one of the most compelling young voices to emerge from the Texas Hill Country. With a memorable ability to translate emotion into song, Riley has earned recognition on some of the nation’s most respected stages for emerging folk and Americana artists.
A formally-trained jazz musician and prolific songwriter, Riley has written hundreds of original songs and developed a style that blends Americana, folk, acoustic pop and roots music with “unusual emotional maturity and lyrical insight,” say her fans.
Riley recently released her full-length debut album, “WRATH,” a collection of original songs exploring themes of identity, sacrifice, boundaries and self-discovery.
To celebrate the release, Riley will host an album release concert, with full band, and potluck on June 13 at Ponderosa House Concerts,1909 Coleman’s Canyon in Wimberley. It will be followed by an afternoon show at Willow Lake Watering Hole and Mercantile on June 14. Reservations for the album release potluck can be made through RileyAmanda.com/shows, where listeners can also find upcoming performances and a history of past shows.
At 17, Riley moved to Wimberley with her family during the COVID pandemic, and the community has played an important role in her artistic journey.
Today, she splits her time between Wimberley and Terlingua, drawing inspiration from both the creative energy of the Hill Country and the wide-open solitude of Far West Texas. Local music fans may remember seeing her at the open mic at Middleton Brewing or performing at Basecamp Gallery in 2022. Since then, Riley has become a familiar figure in the local music scene.
Riley first gained national attention in 2018 when, at 14, she became the inaugural winner of the Youth Songwriting Competition at the Woody Guthrie Folk Festival in Okemah, OK. That same year, she earned third place in the Youth Talent Competition at the Old Settler's Music Festival. She later became a two-time winner of the New Song Showcase at the Walnut Valley Festival in Winfield, KS, further establishing herself as one of the most promising young songwriters in the Americana and folk world.
This summer, Riley returns to the Woody Guthrie Folk Festival as one of the festival’s featured performers, an especially meaningful milestone for an artist who has attended the event for more than a decade and considers it one of her musical homes. In November, she will also be a featured artist at the New Folk and Old Folk Festival in Fischer, TX.
Riley is the daughter of locals Mindy Turner Curnutt, drummer for the local Americana band “The Hill Country Honeys” and Chris Curnutt.
“WRATH” is available now on all major streaming platforms. Support for the artist is best achieved from her website, RileyAmanda.com/store, through the purchase of CDs and merchandise.
