Tune in to spellbinding voice

While in Auckland, Canadian singer-songwriter Ruth Moody will drop in on her sister, a member of the Auckland Symphony. Photo / Supplied

Ruth Moody is an artist who’s a genuine pleasure to listen to, writes Paula Yeoman

Canadian singer-songwriter Ruth Moody is hunkered down in a hotel in the Netherlands, recovering from a nasty bout of flu. It's not ideal given that she's not even halfway through a nine-week tour, which will take her to nine countries.

But she's on the mend and adamant that nothing will get in the way of her upcoming visit to New Zealand.

"I've been back to Australia many times but I've never made it to New Zealand. But this time it was imperative that we came because my sister has moved there. She plays in the Auckland Symphony," she says.

Many will know Moody from the folk-bluegrass trio The Wailin' Jennys. But she's also a force to be reckoned with in her own right. Her last solo album, 2013's These Wilder Things, was a gorgeous collection of songs that traversed the vast Americana landscape and earned her two nominations at the Canadian Folk Music Awards and a Western Canada Music Award.

It's from this album that she mostly draws on her tour. But because it's Moody's first time in New Zealand, she says her Auckland show will "run the gamut".

"I have a really wonderful band and one of the really cool things about them is that they're all really versatile musicians, so it allows us to cover a lot of ground, musically and genre-wise. So, essentially, we play folk music, but we also play Celtic-inspired music, old-time bluegrass and gospel."

Moody will also test a couple of new songs, which she's miraculously found time to write between relentless tours for her solo albums and with The Wailin' Jennys.

"If you're going to do this seriously, there's a period where your energy is focused outward and you tour and you push the thing that you've made. And it's hard because you just don't get that time to write," she says.

"But you kind of trade it. Ten years ago, I used to write all the time, but I dreamed of being able to tour in this way. And so now I'm on the road all the time and it's really intense, but I'm really grateful for the opportunity.

"So I guess, what you have to do is plan for it and carve out time ... and find a place where you can reconnect with yourself."

"Plus, with touring there's always the inspiration you find in visiting new places."

Moody says if what her sister has told her about Auckland is true, she's sure to find it here - even if it's something as simple as swapping the flu-inducing Northern Hemisphere winter for the warm days of summer.

"We sure are happy to be coming. We're all dreaming of sun and swimming."

Ruth Moody will perform at the Tuning Fork, Vector Arena, in Auckland, on February 13.