A bona fide fire cracker, Mandy has an tow sack of original tunes in the folk-goes-pop arena but can also bring out a full arsenal of cover material. Make no mistake, though: Rowden is hardly just another “chick songwriter.” She’s funny as hell, first off, and versatile enough to play an ever-expanding list of instruments that now includes piano, fiddle, mandolin, bass, harmonica, drums, ukulele, and banjo. (And according to one Texas critic, “When she plays the fiddle, hearts melt.”) She’s gone skydiving. And participates in triathalons. She has a cat named Lucy. And once sold all of her possessions and moved to New York. She’s tall, and she’s given up trying to pretend she’s not. In fact, Rowden isn’t the kind of person who’s likely to pretend about much.”