LAGNIAPPE MAGAZINE, 7-15-10
The Songwriter’s Craft by Brad Goins
“Colonna’s new record is such that if it had dropped at any time during the 1970s, it would have been accepted without any problem. Still, it’s not exactly a retro record. The reason is that there’s much focus on the craft of songwriting here. . . . If I had to compare the sound of We Are One to that of anything else, I’d say it reminds me, in a very general way, of the Leon Russell and Dr. John records I listened to in the late 1960s and the 1970s. It’s a kind of songwriting I identify with New Orleans, though, in fact, it may well be a sound that thrived throughout South Louisiana in general. The songs I’m thinking of draw from both blues and R&B and are substantial but accessible.  ” Read Full Article & Review Here

LAKE CHARLES AMERICAN PRESS 6-18-10
  Austin Transplant Comes Home to Release New CD That’s Louisiana Inspired by Karen Wink
“Colonna’s fourth album is a cohesive mix of funky blues that immediately carries you into the swampy sounds of Louisiana. The music is a mix of horns, funky oldschool organs and hard driving blues guitar that flow together with Colonna’s voice and lyrics for a category five storm. . . . “We Are One” captures Colonna’s talents as a songwriter and gives listeners a full immersion in the Louisiana musical mojo. Colonna hits her musical stride. The album is the Colonna album to own and one to grab in case of an evacuation.”  Read More Here

TIGER WEEKLY, Baton Rouge, LA 6/16/10
Wendy was recently featured on the cover of Baton Rouge’s Tiger Weekly. Read Full Story & Interview

JAMBALAYA NEWS,  Lake Charles, LA, by Leslie Berman 6/17/10
“Colonna’s recently been named best singer/songwriter by the Austin American-Statesman, and this time around, I’m going to agree with them, and go a step further. She’s the best singer songwriter to come out of Lake Charles, Louisiana, anytime in recent memory.” READ FULL ARTICLE HERE

EL DORADO TIMES-NEWS, Roderick Harrington 6/09/10
“If you’re a great soul singer, it really doesn’t matter your skin color. Think Louann Barton, Marcia Ball, Tracy Nelson, Dusty Springfield, Jennifer Nettles, Janis Joplin or Bonnie Bramlett. Does it really matter that these soulful women happen to be Anglo and not African-American?

. . .If you can sing you can sing.  Add Austin, Texas, resident Wendy Colonna to that list. Her new CD is “We Are One” and is a great showcase for this talented Louisiana native . . . People love her depth, her passionate delivery and her versatility. Be it folk, rock or soul, Colonna is a rare talent.

I love tracks such as “We Are One,” “Love Comes Once,” the Tom Waits-like “Pelican Waltz” and the haunting “Louisiana.” Her jazzy side comes out on “The One That You’ve Been Waiting For” while blues take over on “Is It True,” both of which feature acoustic guitars with thick, nasty bass.

The best track on “We Are One” may be “Hurricane,” which Colonna wrote. This is as Southern as it gets: vivid pictures, instruments ranging from banjo to trombone, a comfortable shuffle beat. You’ll need a glass of tea or lemonade after hearing this one.

The swampy rocker of “If I Had Possession Over Judgment Day” slithers right into “Heart of Darkness,” which again has a Waits feel with overdubbed voices, strange instruments and a feel straight out of south Louisiana.

I’m a sucker for raw Colonna, just her and that incredible voice. The final track, “All That I Am,” is that kind of song. Just an acoustic guitar and light, tasty electric guitar in just the right spaces.
Her voice is so strong on the final track that when light percussion comes in halfway through it about sends one over the edge.”
Roderick Harrington, weekend editor at the El Dorado News-Times. E-mail him at rharrington@eldoradonews.com READ FULL ARTICLE HERE

SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS NEWS, Jim Beal Jr. 5/28/10 
“Austin-based, Louisiana-raised singer and songwriter Colonna is celebrating the release of her “We Are One” CD. Produced by Papa Mali, a kindred Texas/Louisiana spirit, the 12-song collection beautifully showcases Colonna’s soulful grit, her tender-tough abilities, her talents as a singer and as a songwriter and her collaborators, including her partner, guitarist Chad Pope, and producer Papa Mali. Colonna moves among love songs (“Love Comes Once”), topical commentary (“Hurricane”), New Orleans funk (“Mojo Hannah”) and deep blues (“If I Had Possession Over Judgment Day”) and makes those moves naturally.”

Cecil Doyle, Program Director at KRVS, Lafayette LA  “WE ARE ONE perfectly demonstrates Wendy Colonna’s unceasing maturity as both songwriter and vocalist. Papa Mali appears to be just the sort of producer capable of capturing her incredible range in both areas – an ability to emote everything from gentle sweetness to belting it out like a full-blown, scorching Soul Queen.”

07.08 LAKE CHARLES AMERICAN PRESS AND THE TIMES OF SOUTHWEST LOUISIANA,  “Old, New, Borrowed, Blue DVD” by Bill Krull
“Colonna chisels her finely faceted gems in “Girls of Stone,” “Coffee Today,” “Hold Me Tight,” and “Thunder” and does so with panache and confidence.”
Click here to read complete reviews and articles on Sonicbids.

2007 TEXAS MUSIC MAGAZINE, “Wendy Colonna’s Triple Play”  by Lynn Margolis 
“While Willie Nelson can’t wait to get back on the road again, most artists find it grueling physically, emotionally and spiritually. A different venue in a different town every night for weeks or months on end takes its toll on the most hard-core roadies.

Wendy Colonna’s sheer love of performing live more than offsets the rigors of the road. The Lake Charles native singer-songwriter is one of those performers who gives the audience her utmost in every performance, regardless if she’s in a packed auditorium or a smoky club. Her drive to perform at her peak at every performance led her to the practice of yoga.

Singer-songwriter Wendy Colonna thought she was pitching a nice little concept when she suggested that Music & Entertainment Television, the Austin-based Central Texas music channel, start doing some “little baby interview clips” to splice into their “ME Live!” performance series. Then they asked her if she’d want to make a recorded-live DVD with just the sort of interview segments she’d suggested.”

9.7 HOUSTON PRESS, “Wendy Colonna” By Bob Ruggiero
“With smoky vocals that call to mind Norah Jones or Joan Osborne, Colonna’s expansive musical domain encompasses rock, soul, jazz and blues, making her something of an all-purpose woman.”

5.10 SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS NEWS, “Night After Night” – By Jim Beal Jr. “Talk about ambitious. Colonna is a fearless performer with an excellent voice and plenty of songwriting talent who brings together rock, blues, funk, soul and whatever else she believes fits.”

FLANFIRE BLOG: Wendy, Alpha Rev, and the Rocketboys!
“Give this package [the DVD] to anyone you know in the phony bologna music business to show them what a REAL Louisiana woman can do WITH HER CLOTHES ON — there is absolutely no comparison with Wendy’s genuine songwriting, singing, and performance talent (not to mention her true earthiness and the poetry in her very fingers as well as on the pages she writes) with that Disneyland produced nonsense that poses for commercial music today.”
Wendy & Chad AT NEWS 8 AUSTIN “Your Parade”

5.6 THIS IS TEXAS MUSIC,  Adam Black  “Austin’s Wendy Colonna is shrewdly urban, surprisingly hip and she’s got a coquettish, bluesy Joan Osbourne thing working.”
(4½ out of 5)

“Wendy Colonna offers a tonic for those who remember Aretha, Marvin, and Stevie making meaningful albums that helped weave the socio-sonic tapestry of a generation…”

Click here to read complete reviews and articles on Sonicbids.