Maria Wallace is a singer, songwriter and music promoter based in Yorkshire. She performs both original and traditional music – folk, roots, bluegrass and Americana, with a broad range of influences. Maria’s powerful voice can be big and bluesy or sweet and mellow as the song 
demands, but it’s always compelling and distinctive. Maria has performed at numerous festivals, sessions, gigs and open mics both solo and with duo partner Phil Stott in Phrase & Fable, and with their former band The Reckless Abandoners. Maria has been working on her solo project over the past few years, backed by a stellar cast of folk and bluegrass musicians from the USA and UK. Look out for the release of The Merryville Sessions EP in summer 2025.
Maria is also an award winning grassroots music promoter under the name True North Music. Since 2015 she has hosted over 60 gigs in Yorkshire by some of the finest Americana, bluegrass and folk artists from the USA, Canada, UK & Ireland, and has booked over 40 nationwide UK tours. Maria also recently launched her Womenfolk podcast, telling the stories of fascinating, talented women working in roots music. Subscribe, download and listen wherever you get your podcasts!
“I am continually impressed with Maria’s work ethic, passion and skills. Regardless of the role she takes on, she is exceptionally organized, always honest and goes above and beyond to make things successful. Maria has a great talent for connecting people and for inspiring them.” – April Verch, award-winning Canadian musician
Maria’s tireless work to champion grassroots live music has been recognised with many awards and opportunities. She recently received an Arts Council England (ACE) Developing Your Creative Practice grant to develop her podcast project, as well as ACE Project Grants funding to help support True North Music’s local live music series in 2023-24. Maria was part of the 2021-22 cohort of the Both Sides Now Leaders Network for women working in music, and in 2021 she was nominated for an IBMA (International Bluegrass Music Association) Industry Involvement Award. Maria is committed to improving gender equality in roots music – in her own programming and booking roster, and across the wider music scene. Her new podcast Womenfolk podcast continues this work of showcasing brilliant, talented female musicians and creative people. True North Music was awarded Project Grants funding twice in 2020 to deliver online live music events during the pandemic. In 2017 Maria won Yorkshire Gig Guide’s Outstanding Promoter award, and in 2019 she was selected for the prestigious Leadership Bluegrass course run in Nashville by the IBMA. These opportunities have all been hugely valuable in building Maria’s extensive network in the folk-roots music scene. Whether as a singer, songwriter, promoter or enthusiast, Maria is constantly seeking to build community, make the scene more inclusive, and above all share the joy and fun of grassroots live music.