Mere Woodard moved to Florida from her hometown of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, over a decade ago in search of sunshine and a more temperate climate. She met her future husband while she was living in New Smyrna Beach, Florida and relocated to Jacksonville. The couple now live in Ponte Vedra Beach with their young daughter. Woodard is a singer/songwriter who finds inspiration for her songs from her life experiences. Her first album, “Dance in the Rain,” was a children’s album she wrote for her daughter in 2013. But Woodard is not a children’s songwriter. Her second album, “Like the Sea,” explores her new role in life as a mother and the changing role of self that motherhood brings. Her sophomore album will be released this winter. Woodard enjoys performing locally in intimate setting such as listening rooms and house concerts, coffee-house-style performances which allow her to interact with the audience and tell the story behind the song.
Where are you from originally?
Originally, I’m from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. I grew up there.
What brought you to Jacksonville?
It just got to be so cold, and it’s gloomy 80 percent of the time in Pittsburgh. It’s a great city, but I just really needed sunshine! So, obviously I was like, ‘I’ll go to the Sunshine State.’ I kind of moved all over the state; I lived Tampa and then I lived in New Smyrna and that’s where I met my husband. He lived up here, and eventually I relocated to Jacksonville. I’ve been here for 12 years.
When will you be releasing your second album?
I don’t have an exact release date; it’s going to be sometime in the winter — December or maybe January at the very latest. It will be available on iTunes and Amazon and CD Baby and then I’ll also have physical copies. I’m going to do a CD release party, I just don’t have my date yet, but I plan on doing stuff all around town. I love doing listening rooms, so I really have this kind of vision of having a listening room kind of launch with it because I love telling stories. Each song has a story and a meaning behind it. I feel like it’s so nice because that’s how you really connect with your audience, telling them where the song came from.
Where did the inspiration for the songs on your second album come from?
I think this album was all about being a new mother. Suddenly, I was faced with this moment of like, where do I fit in into my own life? And so I just had all of these questions within myself about myself and where I fit into my world with my daughter now and the growth of my family. It’s a confusing time. I recorded the album locally at Chromatic Studios in Jacksonville.
What do you enjoy doing in your free time?
I love to write music, and that’s really what I do in my free time. I don’t know if that’s considered free time, but that’s what I love to do. And I love to exercise to. I’m always doing something; I’m constantly picking up little hobbies.
Where do you perform? Do you have any upcoming performances?
I’ll be performing at the Leading Ladies 904 Launch Social on Friday, Nov. 6 from 6-9 p.m. I’ll also be performing from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 14 at the Manatee Festival at Jacksonville Zoo & Gardens and Katie Grace Helow’s album release show Thursday, Nov. 19 at 8 p.m. at the Barnett National Bank Building in downtown Jacksonville.
You can follow Woodard on Instagram at @merewoodard to see where she will be performing next. To learn more about Woodard and hear a track from her upcoming album, visit www.merewoodard.com.