Hi everyone! I'm Hannah, and I love writing music. I especially love writing music that speaks to my heart, that helps me process and understand the world around me; music that accurately reflects what is hard for me to put into words alone. I use music as a tool for self-reflection, self-discovery, and self-expression. My deepest hope for others is that through my own exploration of who I am, I may give others permission to feel and explore and express their own deeper truths and dreams. 

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Music has always been a part of my life. I remember singing lullabies to my younger brothers as a little girl to help them stop crying at night; making up songs with my older sister as we played outside in the lakes of our hometown in Minnesota, and singing carols with my cousins at our annual Christmas gathering. I remember playing the piano for hours at a time, getting lost in the music, feeling the joy of being present and the freedom of expressing how I felt through piano melodies and eventually, through words and poems. 

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Soon all these seeds began to grow, and improvisations and poems flowered into songs, and more songs. I decided to study at Berklee College of Music, where I received a dual degree of Songwriting and Music Therapy, with a minor in Psychology. While there, I received a few songwriting accolades, performed around the Boston area, and I also released my first album, "The Part That Knows" in 2012. I performed in Greece, where I learned how to play the harp. I traveled to Kenya with a non-profit organization, sharing my songwriting knowledge and building a small recording studio in a village there. I also traveled and toured Scotland and Ireland with my duo group, The Arrow & the Bow​. It was all truly an incredible learning experience and very expansive time in my life.

Though I loved performing and songwriting, I was also still deeply interested in understanding how music could be used as a tool for healing. I discovered how powerful and transformative music could be while completing my 1,000hr music therapy internship at Boston Children's Hospital in 2013. All the while, I continued to write music, to express the feelings and questions that I had, to understand what was happening in the world around me. I continued to pursue this path of healing and self-discovery through completing a certified yoga teacher training at South Boston Yoga, more deeply practicing meditation and mindfulness. I also began to explore the healing benefits of essential oils, and other healing modalities.

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Meanwhile, I continued to perform around the Northeast and Midwest areas of the US, opening for artists such as Jen Chapin, Raining Jane, and Couer De Pirate and sharing the stage with artists like Emily Elbert, Emily Mure, and George Woods. To my surprise, my song, "A Hundred Hearts," has been featured in wedding videos all around the world. Other songs of mine have been performed all around the world by the amazing female acapella group, Women of the World. I'm also grateful to have been a finalist and winner in numerous songwriting competitions such as the John Lennon Songwriting Contest and Great American Song Contest. (More info below). I recently released my second album, "Grow the World You're Dreaming of," and am currently working on some more recordings, as well as exploring more opportunities to experience music in more intimate, listening venues. I'm also releasing new music with my electro-pop duo, We Saw Lions. 

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In 2018, I moved to the mountains of New Mexico to be closer to nature, and live a more peaceful lifestyle. I also changed my name from Hannah Christianson to Hannah Lou Woods. Currently, I love to teach songwriting as a tool for self-transformation, I love producing other artists, and I continue to perform and share my music. I also have been exploring how to bridge music and yoga/mindfulness through unique workshops and performances, blending my experience and knowledge together to assist others in developing and expressing their own voice as well.

And of course, I continue to write and express and explore and discover what it means to be a person navigating this mysterious world of existence: through words, art, sound, and song. 

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Thanks for listening. 

With warmth,

Hannah

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