| Carolyn Wonderland | |
| Landscape: | Yes |
| Birth Name: | Carolyn Bradford |
| Birth Date: | November 9, 1972 |
| Birth Place: | Houston, Texas, United States |
| Origin: | Houston, Texas |
| Instrument: | Guitar, vocals |
| Genre: | Blues |
| Occupation: | Singer-songwriter, guitarist |
| Years Active: | 1990s–present |
Carolyn Wonderland (born Carolyn Bradford, November 9, 1972) is an American blues singer-songwriter and musician. She is married to comedian and writer A. Whitney Brown.
Carolyn Wonderland was born Carolyn Bradford in 1972 in Houston, Texas, United States. Wonderland dropped out of Houston's Langham Creek High School to pursue her music ambitions.[1]
During the early 1990s, she toured with her own group, Carolyn Wonderland and the Imperial Monkeys. In 1999, Wonderland moved to Austin, Texas; in 2001, she lost her apartment lease after her landlord became ill, and decided to live out of her van since she was spending more than 300 days a year on the road performing.
Wonderland's instrumental abilities include guitar, slide guitar, mandolin, trumpet, and piano. Although primarily a blues artist, Wonderland likes to incorporate elements of country, swing, zydeco, surf, gospel, soul, and cumbia into her musical mix. She usually performs with Cole El-Saleh on keyboards and Kevin Lance on drums.
In February 2008, Wonderland released the CD, Miss Understood, on the Bismeaux Productions label,[2] and the title song has been on the Top 50 of the 'Roots Music Report' chart since the album's release.[3] Fans of Wonderland's music include Bob Dylan,[4] and Ray Benson, founder of Asleep at the Wheel. Benson produced Miss Understood, and has been one of her songwriting collaborators. Wonderland credits several blues and Texas musicians as influences on her music. One notable influence is Austin singer-songwriter Terri Hendrix, as Wonderland covered two Hendrix songs, ("I Found the Lions" and "Throw My Love"), on Miss Understood.
Wonderland has been involved in a number of recordings, including several that were self-produced on independent labels. She was the lead singer fronting the band Imperial Monkeys. Wonderland released Bloodless Revolution in 2008, and is the primary singer on the Jerry Lightfoot's Band of Wonder Texistentialism CD with Lightfoot and Vince Welnick (Grateful Dead, Tubes.)[5]
Wonderland was a founding member of the Loose Affiliation of Saints and Sinners (with Papa Mali, Eldridge Goins, Guy Forsyth, and others), with several of her songs being featured on their Sessions from the Hotel San Jose Rm. 50 CD.[5] She was also the lead guitarist in the all-girl, southern rock band Sis DeVille (other members include Shelley King, Sarah Brown, Lisa Pankratz, and Floramay Holliday), and a founding member of the Austin Volunteer Orchestra.[5]
Wonderland appeared on Austin City Limits in 2008,[6] and has had her music used on NBC's Homicide and Fox's Time of Your Life. She was a headlining artist at the annual Rochester International Jazz Festival summer 2009 at the Eastman Theatre and New York. In 2003, Wonderland opened the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, after performing there for the previous ten years, singing the National Anthem with 'The Imperial Monkeys'.[7]
Wonderland also performs with the Imperial Golden Crown Harmonizers, raising money for local Austin charities, food banks, soup kitchens, homeless shelters, and on behalf of the legalization of marijuana.[5]
On April 6, 2018, Wonderland joined John Mayall as his first (& only) female lead guitarist in his 60+ year career until his death in 2024.[8]
Wonderland married writer-comedian A. Whitney Brown on March 4, 2011, in a ceremony officiated by Michael Nesmith.[9]
Wonderland has won the following awards:[10]
| Title | Year | Artist Name | Label | Producer | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Groove Milk | (1993) | Carolyn Wonderland and the Imperial Monkeys | Pulse/Montrose | Richard Cagle | |
| Truckstop Favorites Vol. 2 | (1994) | Carolyn Wonderland and the Imperial Monkeys | Pulse/Montrose | ||
| Play with Matches | (1995) | Carolyn Wonderland and the Imperial Monkeys | Big Mo Records | The Imperial Monkeys | |
| Bursting with Flavor | (1997) | Carolyn Wonderland and the Imperial Monkeys | Justice Records | Randall Hage Jamail | |
| Blue Lights (CD single) | (1997) | Carolyn Wonderland and the Imperial Monkeys | Justice Records | ||
| Alcohol & Salvation | (2001) | Carolyn Wonderland | Mix-O-Rama Records | Eldridge Goins | |
| Bloodless Revolution | (2003) | Carolyn Wonderland | Indie release | Stephen Doster | |
| Miss Understood | (2008) | Carolyn Wonderland | Bismeaux Productions | Ray Benson | |
| Peace Meal | (2011) | Carolyn Wonderland | Bismeaux Productions | Ray Benson, Larry Campbell, Michael Nesmith | |
| Live Texas Trio | (2015) | Carolyn Wonderland | Bismeaux Productions | Carolyn Wonderland | |
| Moon Goes Missing | (2017) | Carolyn Wonderland | Home Records | ||
| Tempting Fate | (2021) | Carolyn Wonderland | Alligator Records | Dave Alvin |