Mandy Rowden was born into a fundamentalist Baptist household and raised in East Texas where she was homeschooled throughout her adolescence. The Rowden family was restricted to a regimen of gospel and classical music and, as any respectful child does, she adhered to her parents beliefs while taking up classical violin and piano at a mere six years old. Rowden's parents noticed her natural abilities, and as a result of her insatiable musical wanderlust, or perhaps fearlessness, Rowden rejected her family's notion of what is acceptable and picked up a guitar in high school. With each strum her passion for the instrument grew exponentially; her worldview changed when she unlocked the long forbidden door to rock music at twenty one.