Mariana Bell

Singer songwriter Mariana Bell delivers her soulful brand of folk pop across clubs in the city/the region and beyond, weaving elements of rock, jazz and country together with her trademark hook-filled melodies and evocative, passionate vocals.
The Australian-born, Charlottesville-raised Mariana Bell began singing at age 6. As an alto in the Virginia Consort Youth Choir, she continued to hone her talent for melody and harmony, performing at the National Cathedral and the White House. Soon after moving to New York, she became a fixture at such venerable downtown locales as Caffe Vivaldi, Rockwood Music Hall, The Bitter End, CBGB's and The Living Room to name a few. In addition to singing backup vocals for various bands in need of some sweet harmony, she regularly performed with Irish band Doc and the Hods at the now-defunct but famed Bottom Line and innumerable Irish bars about town.
Mariana has also had a long relationship with the stage. She composed music for a production of Trojan Women, an ensemble play in which the 9 women sang in harmony and round. She has done musicals a plenty, as well as non-traditional singing and strumming in shows. Another high point was playing to an audience of over 500 with some of Broadway's biggest stars, as well as Neil Diamond, at the NYU October Festival, where NYU gave away $1 million in tickets to help Broadway recover from the devastating blow of 9.11 the previous month. Now a Los Angeles native, she performs on the sunny coast at Hotel Cafe and Lestat's regularly and will be touring this spring for the new release.
Mariana Bell has performed and recorded with an eclectic set of renowned musicians such as Ellis Paul, The Paper Raincoat, Rosi Golan, pianists Vienna Teng and Josh Dodes, cellist Paul Brantley, guitarists Rusty Speidel (Mary Chapin Carpenter), Adam Tressler, Eric Robinson and Justin Derrico (Pink), Adam Countryman, Gary Granger, Dan Lutz, and Jared Scharff & the Royals (SNL) and for her newest release, PUSH, producer Eddie Jackson (James Taylor, Guster)
"Mariana writes and records songs that tread on the fine line that separates commercial music from real music. Sure, her songs can be appreciated by millions and millions of listeners. But unlike the average commercial artist, Bell seems to make music that comes straight from her heart and soul instead of merely churning out catchy tunes to make a buck. She's made all kinds of heavyweight connections over the past few years. Our guess is that Push will be the album to quietly push her music into the mainstream (perhaps that explains the album title?). The songs are poignant and smart and feature super polished lush arrangements. Produced by Eddie Jackson, the album is chock full of cool vibes and appropriately restrained arrangements. But it's that voice--that sparkling pure voice--that will draw so many listeners to these tunes." -Babysue.com
While critics have likened her music to that of a young Joni Mitchell, Mariana counts among her own influences Shawn Colvin, Bruce Cockburn, Dave Matthews, and Ani DiFranco. She has been a special guest numerous times on WTJU 91.1 FM, acclaimed WCNR 106.1 FM The Corner, and WNRN in Charlottesville, VA, as well as appearing on PlumTV in Nantucket, MA, 88.9 KXLU Radio and MusicTV.com in LA. Over the past years, Mariana has been touring across the country from Nashville to New York, London to Australia winning audiences over with her unique and soulful live performances.