March 2021 Newsletter | 🍀 March Merch Sale + Sundays With Mary Lineup
Hi Friend,
I've been vaccinated and I'm ready to hit the road again - We've scheduled some dates in June, but look for more show announcements in the near future. As always, there are some spectacular guests lined up for the month! Don't miss 'Sundays with Mary' every Sunday at 2pm CT.
Visit the merch store now and find that we've extended the sale! Don't miss out on any tees, masks, handwritten lyrics, digital & physical music, and more. Help me clean out inventory and make room for some new stuff!
MERCH SALE
CODE: LUCKY21
20% OFF YOUR ENTIRE ORDER
OFFER EXTENDED THRU MARCH
💽 NOW ON BANDCAMP
DOWNLOAD + SUPPORT
You can now download four of my records on Bandcamp!
This platform has helped independent artists share their music with fans for many years. It's great to finally provide you with another avenue to access my music. During the pandemic (every first Friday of the month), they waive fees for us so we can maintain ownership of our craft.
Make sure you follow my page and keep your eyes peeled for more releases from the catalog coming soon!
BOOK A 1-ON-1
CONCERTS + SONG COACHING ON TOPEKA
🎟 TOUR DATES
BACK TO TEXAS
06.25.21
GALVESTON, TX
OLD QUARTER ACOUSTIC CAFE
06.26.21
AUSTIN, TX
CACTUS CAFE
06.27.21
DALLAS, TX
CAFE MOMENTUM
06.28.21
TOMBALL, TX
MAIN STREET CROSSING
🎙 SUNDAYS WITH MARY
Join us every Sunday at 2pm CT on our weekly livestream!
MARCH GUESTS
03.07.21 • JAIMEE HARRIS
03.14.21 • LESLIE SATCHER
03.21.21 • BEN GLOVER
03.28.21 • MARGARET RENKL
✍️ MARY'S MERCY MISSIVES
READ THE NEWEST ISSUE HERE
Dear Mary,
I am extremely conscious of my own limitations. How do I gain confidence to write songs and perform them? Who encouraged you?
February 2021 Newsletter | ❤️ 20% OFF Sale for February
Hi Friend,
Besides the usual updates on Sundays with Mary lineups, tour reminders, and other happenings - There is a Valentine sale happening on my website! Use the code LOVE21 at checkout to recieve 20% OFF your entire order. Just trying to spread some love of my own this month...
️ ❤️ VALENTINE SALE
CODE: LOVE21
20% OFF YOUR ENTIRE ORDER
OFFER VALID THRU FEBRUARY
💽 NOW ON BANDCAMP
DOWNLOAD + SUPPORT
You can now download four of my records on Bandcamp!
This platform has helped independent artists share their music with fans for many years. It's great to finally provide you with another avenue to access my music. During the pandemic (every first Friday of the month), they waive fees for us so we can maintain ownership of our craft.
Make sure you follow my page and keep your eyes peeled for more releases from the catalog coming soon!
📺 VIRTUAL CONCERTS
BOOK NOW ON TOPEKA
🎟 TOUR DATES
FLORIDA + TEXAS
02.26.21
KEY WEST, FL
LIVE FROM THE LAWN
06.25.21
GALVESTON, TX
OLD QUARTER ACOUSTIC CAFE
06.26.21
AUSTIN, TX
CACTUS CAFE
06.27.21
DALLAS, TX
CAFE MOMENTUM
06.28.21
TOMBALL, TX
MAIN STREET CROSSING
🎙 SUNDAYS WITH MARY
Join us every Sunday at 2pm CT on our weekly livestream!
FEBRUARY GUESTS
02.07.21 • GRAHAM WEBER
02.14.21 • WAYLON PAYNE
02.21.21 • DAN BERN
02.28.21 • ODIE LINDSEY
✍️ MARY'S MERCY MISSIVES
READ THE FEBRUARY ISSUE HERE
Dear Mary,
Do you think it’s possible to become a songwriter later in life?
January 2021 Newsletter | 👏 Welcome 2021 + New Tour Dates in June!
Hi Friend,
It's finally 2021 and I'm so happy for many reasons. We have survived quite a year and are now entering a new one with welcoming arms. I'm excited to announce new Texas tour dates in June and there are only a few seats left for the February Songwriting Master Class with Mary Gauthier & Gretchen Peters!
🎟 UPCOMING TOUR DATES
JUNE 2021 IN TEXAS
06.25.21
GALVESTON, TX
OLD QUARTER ACOUSTIC CAFE
06.26.21
AUSTIN, TX
CACTUS CAFE
06.27.21
DALLAS, TX
CAFE MOMENTUM
06.28.21
TOMBALL, TX
MAIN STREET CROSSING
📚 SONGWRITING MASTER CLASS
ONLY A FEW SEATS LEFT IN FEBRUARY
This workshop would be a great gift for a songwriter you love, or for yourself!
A new year, a new start. It’s the perfect time to make a commitment to bring your songwriting to a deeper level, take some risks, and push past old fears that are holding you back. If ever the world needed songwriters to rise and help people feel they are not alone, it is now. In these five classes, I will work with songwriters to develop conscious creative courage. Putting honest songs into the world take courage because it is scary to reveal our true selves and face rejection. Someone who has courage is not fearless, but they face the dangerous, difficult, or frightening situation anyway. We will do a deep dive into creative courage, and emerge braver.
Register and learn more about the workshop!
🎙 SUNDAYS WITH MARY
Join us every Sunday at 2pm CT on our weekly livestream!
JANUARY GUESTS
01.03.21 • TIM O'BRIEN
01.10.21 • HAYES CARLL
01.17.21 • BONNIE WHITMORE
01.24.21 • SAM BAKER
01.31.21 • RICHARD SHINDELL
🎻 WATCH MICHELE'S NEW VIDEO
CHECK OUT MICHELE GAZICH
December 2020 Newsletter | "Give the Gift of Mercy Now Lyrics + New Master Class"
Hi Friend,
Greetings from Key West Florida! We are working from our hotel room after playing an outside, social distanced show here last week. While here, we will continue our weekly Sundays w/ Mary livestreams. I have some tremendous guests scheduled for the month of December: Rod Picott, Scott Nolan, and Eliza Gilkyson are excited to join us - We hope your are too!
Do you have a favorite songwriter that you'd like me to bring on the show? Let me know, and I will try. Sadly, I don't really know Dylan or Springsteen, so keep it within my reach and I will do my best to get him/her on!
On the water thanks to my old friend Captain Karen who owns Venus Charters. We've been friends for twenty years, and her charters are the very best in Key West. A HUGE thank you to Captain Karen, for a wonderful afternoon!
📚NEW MASTER CLASS
Manifesting Creative Courage
A five class intensive songwriting course in January
This workshop would be a great gift for a songwriter you love, or for yourself!
A new year, a new start. It’s the perfect time to make a commitment to bring your songwriting to a deeper level, take some risks, and push past old fears that are holding you back. If ever the world needed songwriters to rise and help people feel they are not alone, it is now. In these five classes, I will work with songwriters to develop conscious creative courage. Putting honest songs into the world take courage because it is scary to reveal our true selves and face rejection. Someone who has courage is not fearless, but they face the dangerous, difficult, or frightening situation anyway. We will do a deep dive into creative courage, and emerge braver.
Click here to register and learn more about the workshop!
*Limited to 20 songwriters
🎁 ORIGINAL ART GIFT
A handwritten & illustrated lyrics of "Mercy Now"
New to the store, we have added Limited Edition "Mercy Now" Handwritten & Signed Lyrics with hand-drawn artwork by Darden Smith (co-founder of SongwritingWith:Soldiers). Each sheet is signed by the artists.
We are limited to only 20 sheets, so act fast! Be sure to place your order in time for the holiday!
🎙 SUNDAYS WITH MARY
Join us every Sunday at 2pm CT on our weekly livestream!
GUESTS THIS MONTH
12.6 ROD PICOTT
12.13 SCOTT NOLAN
12.20 ELIZA GILKYSON
12.27 LYNN MILES
✍️ MARY'S MERCY MISSIVES
Issue #3: Guitars & Love
Dear Mary,
Please tell us about your guitar. At first I was thinking "she needs to get it fixed," but I reckon there's story there?
- Sally
Read Mary's response in the latest issue of Mary's Mercy Missives.
August 2020 Newsletter | "September Master Classes, Sundays w/ Mary, and Saved by a Song"
August 2020 Newsletter
"Good Trouble"
August News
Remembering John Lewis
"Do not get lost in a sea of despair," Lewis tweeted almost exactly a year before his death.
Do not become bitter or hostile. Be hopeful, be optimistic. Never, ever be afraid to make some noise and get in good trouble, necessary trouble. We will find a way to make a way out of no way."
-- John Lewis
President Obama said: "Generations from now, when parents teach their children what is meant by courage, the story of John Lewis will come to mind -- an American who knew that change could not wait for some other person or some other time; whose life is a lesson in the fierce urgency of now.
-- President Barak Obama
RIP Sir, RIP.
Sundays w/ Mary
"Sundays with Mary" continue in August with a great lineup of musical friends! On August 9th, I'll be joined by my friend Rodney Crowell. All tips (100%) from this stream will benefit Music Health Alliance. Did you know medical bills are the #1 cause of bankruptcy in America and 75% of those bankruptcies actually have health insurance? Music Health Alliance is not only helping music professionals gain access to affordable health care, but they are also currently feeding our most vulnerable population in the music community during this pandemic. Please join us on August 9th to raise awareness and funds for this important effort. We love spending our Sundays with you.
Sundays with Mary | FB LIVE at 2PM CT
Upcoming "Sundays w/ Mary" Guests
August 2nd: Allison Moorer
August 9th: Rodney Crowell *Benefitting Music Health Alliance*
August 16th: Gurf Morlix
August 23rd: Sam Baker returns!
August 30th: Slaid Cleaves
Be sure to watch Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter for the most up to date guest announcements.
NEW NEW NEW! September Master Classes
Strictly limited to twenty songwriters, in these classes Mary will listen to songs, and offer feedback and encouragement to every participant. She will listen to your song, and provide a deep dive into the mechanics and art of songwriting using your unfinished song as a way of finding teachable moments that will put songwriting tools in the toolkits of every member of the class. Increasing the number of tools you have in your toolkit is the fastest way to becoming a better songwriter. Mary has twenty years of experience working with songwriters in this way, and her book “Saved By a Song” is coming out in August 2021 on St. Martin’s MacMillan Press. This is not a lecture class, it is a hands-on, student participation workshop taught in four ninety-minute sessions. You will walk away with information that usually takes decades to figure out.
New "Mercy" Masks Available Now
Every living thing could use a little mercy now...
New "Mercy" face coverings. The one on the left is made of T-Shirt fabric, super lightweight for summer outdoor heat, no-sew. 1 ply, raw edges.
The one on the right is a thicker face-covering made of breathable, washable, stretchy polyester.
Both face coverings are non-medical.
"Mercy" logo by Brad Bond (Austin, TX)
Book a Unique, One-On-One Experience with Mary
I’m excited to offer one on one live video hang out sessions including serenades, mini-concerts, and songwriting coaching via Topeka Live. Not only will you be getting a unique, individualized experience with me but you'll also be supporting Atlanta-based non-profit, Circles Morningside. Circles Morningside empowers men and women looking to lift themselves from poverty by providing apprenticeships and employment opportunities.
LIVESTREAM SHOWS
Sunday, August 2nd: Sundays w/ Mary Live Stream: Allison Moorer, 2 PM, CDT, Mary Gauthier's FB Page / Mary's YouTube Channel
Sunday, August 9th: Sundays w/ Mary Live Stream: Rodney Crowell *Benefitting Music Health Alliance*, 2 PM, CDT, Mary Gauthier's FB Page / Mary's YouTube Channel
Sunday, August 16th: Sundays w/ Mary Live Stream: Gurf Morlix, 2 PM, CDT, Mary Gauthier's FB Page / Mary's YouTube Channel
Sunday, August 23rd: Sundays w/ Mary Live Stream: Sam Baker, 2 PM, CDT, Mary Gauthier's FB Page / Mary's YouTube Channel
Sunday, August 30th: Sundays w/ Mary Live Stream: Slaid Cleaves, 2 PM, CDT Mary Gauthier's FB Page / Mary's YouTube Channel
Virtual debut: Grammy nominee Mary Gauthier will play the Woody Guthrie Folk Festival for the first time as it goes online
Mary Gauthier is among the musicians who will make their Woody Guthrie Folk Festival debut this year as the festival moves to a virtual format due to the coronavirus pandemic. [Laura Partain photo]
Mary Gauthier considers herself part of the lineage of Woody Guthrie.
"The spirit of Woody Guthrie lives on, and I consider myself one of Woody's children. ... The approach to songwriting, I really relate to what he was up to. He was up to calling out fascism and connecting people and bringing love into the world and respect and dignity to all people. He was a rabblerouser and an activist in song. He really was a magic man, and his songs are timeless. They never expire," Gauthier said in a phone interview.
"He really taught folk singers like me how to approach a time like this, and he was and is a luminous figure for people who are interested in using songs for entertainment but also for more than just entertainment. He was great at both."
A Grammy-nominated folk singer-songwriter, Gauthier is one of the high-profile performers making their debut at this year's Woody Guthrie Folk Festival, even though the event affectionately known as WoodyFest is taking place virtually rather than in Guthrie's hometown of Okemah this year due to the coronavirus pandemic.
"We've been invited several times, but it always collides with some other festival. It's in the dead of summer, and usually I'm in Canada playing Canadian folk festivals. There's just always some collision. This was going to be my big 'finally get to go to WoodyFest and really excited about it' summer, but we're gonna do it online," Gauthier said.
"I'm really happy that the technology seems to be able to connect us and really happy that the Woody Guthrie Festival is going to play online. People will watch it."
The festival, which takes place annually place in the late, great folk singer's Oklahoma hometown around his July 14 birthday, will continue with musical performances Saturday and Sunday and panels on Saturday. Streaming will be available on AppleTV, Roku, YouTube, Facebook Live and more.
"As much as we would love to be in downtown Okemah and on the Pastures of Plenty with all our friends and family, it just can't happen right now, unfortunately," said Maddie Gregory, media chair for the nonprofit Woody Guthrie Coalition, which organizes WoodyFest.
"I think that it helps kind of keep that legacy of Woody alive, as well as protecting people while we can."
Eclectic lineup
Along with Gauthier, artists making their WoodyFest debut this year include Oscar-winning Irish vocalist, songwriter and guitarist GleAlthough Gauthier is glad to be included in this year's virtual WoodyFest, she said she hopes to make the pilgrimage to Okemah to perform at next year's festival in honor of Guthrie.
"Jaimee, it's her favorite festival, and I really, really want to experience it," Gauthier said. "He painted pictures, and that's part of how you change people's hearts is to tell a story with pictures so they can see enough to empathize with the character. The way to get to the universal is through the particular, to get closer in to the experience — and he was very, very good at that."
The Nashville, Tennessee-based folk-rocker earned acclaim for her empathetic songwriting on her latest album, 2018s "Rifles & Rosary Beads," which showcases songs she penned through her work with SongwritingWith:Soldiers, a nonprofit program that organizes retreats that pair professional songwriters with military members.
After the album's release, Gauthier won the Americana Music Association’s UK International Artist Of The Year Award, as well as Album of the Year at the International Folk Music Awards. "Rifles & Rosary Beads" also earned a Grammy nod in the Best Folk Album category and was nominated for Album Of The Year by the Americana Music Association.n Hansard and award-winning singer-songwriter Raye Zaragoza.
This year's celebration of the folk singer’s 108th birthday also will feature performances from Jason Mraz, Graham Nash, Branjae, BJ Barham, Ellis Paul, Jamie Lin Wilson, Joel Rafael, John Fullbright, Ali Harter, Samantha Crain and Jaimee Harris, who is Gauthier's partner.
"Most tributes to the troops don't include the words of the troops. These songs were co-written with those who've served — many have seen combat; an awful a lot of them (were) wounded — and their spouses. ... Even though they're not songwriters, it's their story," Gauthier said.
Pandemic pivot
For the release of "Rifles & Rosary Beads," Gauthier did a series of weekly Facebook Live broadcasts in which she played previews of the album's tracks and talked to her fans about the veterans who co-wrote each one of the songs.
That experience has proven invaluable this year as the pandemic has forced her to postpone most of her concerts and lean on her live-streaming skills.
"I kind of got used to the technology of looking at yourself on a screen and talking into the void and having comments come back during the release of that record, going on three years ago," Gauthier said.
Her weekly "Sundays W/ Mary" Facebook Live series recently garnered a mention in The New York Times.
"I came to music later in life. I was 40 when I came to Nashville to be a full-time songwriter. I had already owned a couple of restaurants, I had worked in construction, I had owned an all-female painting company. I'm the queen of pivot," she said.
"The uncertainty is a challenge, I think, for me, particularly as a touring musician who makes her living on the road. I'm not sure when I'll work again, which that's a big, giant uncertainty. So many people are suffering and struggling, and there's just a weird disconnect; like, at my house it's pretty peaceful. I'm growing a garden. My little inner circle is pretty calm, but I look just a little bit away ... and there's a lot of suffering."
Still, she said she is grateful that online outlets like her social media series and the virtual WoodyFest allow her to keep doing her job as a musician."There's a beautiful thing that happens when music connects with people, be it in a live-stream or in a small theater. It still connects," she said.GOING ONVirtual Woody Guthrie Folk Festival
till, she said she is grateful that online outlets like her social media series and the virtual WoodyFest allow her to keep doing her job as a musician.
"There's a beautiful thing that happens when music connects with people, be it in a live-stream or in a small theater. It still connects," she said.
GOING ON
Virtual Woody Guthrie Folk Festival
till, she said she is grateful that online outlets like her social media series and the virtual WoodyFest allow her to keep doing her job as a musician.
"There's a beautiful thing that happens when music connects with people, be it in a live-stream or in a small theater. It still connects," she said.
GOING ON
Virtual Woody Guthrie Folk Festival
July 2020 Newsletter | "Sundays With Mary," Mercy Masks, And Boy George
July 2020 Newsletter
"Mercy Now"
July News
Sundays w/ Mary Continue
We have really enjoyed spending our Sundays with you over the past two months. During this difficult time, it's meant so much to us to connect with you and my songwriter friends every week. So, we're going to keep them going! This week, we welcome my good friend Lori McKenna. Lori and I have known each other since our open mic days in Boston 25 years ago, so this will be a beautiful reunion. Lori's career includes GRAMMY Awards, ACM Awards, CMA Awards, and more cuts than I can count. You don't want to miss this stream.
Sundays with Mary | FB LIVE at 2PM CT
Upcoming "Sundays w/ Mary" Guests
July 12th: Lori McKenna
July 19th: Carlene Carter
July 26th: Carrie Rodriguez
August 2nd: Allison Moorer
August 9th: Rodney Crowell *Benefitting Music Health Alliance*
August 30th: Slaid Cleaves
Be sure to watch Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter for the most up to date guest announcements.
Boy George Sings "Mercy Now" for Rolling Stone
06/29/2020
Boy George sang "Mercy Now" for Rolling Stone and I cried. His understanding of the song and his ability to truly SING it...wow! Honest to goodness, he nailed it! Also, his eye shadow is simply THE BEST. Have a listen.
NEW NEW NEW! September Master Classes
Strictly limited to twenty songwriters, in these classes Mary will listen to songs, and offer feedback and encouragement to every participant. She will listen to your song, and provide a deep dive into the mechanics and art of songwriting using your unfinished song as a way of finding teachable moments that will put songwriting tools in the toolkits of every member of the class. Increasing the number of tools you have in your toolkit is the fastest way to becoming a better songwriter. Mary has twenty years of experience working with songwriters in this way, and her book “Saved By a Song” is coming out in August 2020 on St. Martin’s MacMillan Press. This is not a lecture class, it is a hands-on, student participation workshop taught in four ninety-minute sessions. You will walk away with information that usually takes decades to figure out.
Watch Mary's socials for enrollment announcement.
New "Mercy" Masks Available Now
Every living thing could use a little mercy now...
New "Mercy" masks now available on the Mary Gauthier web store. Light and thin, no sew, 1 ply design by Bella+Canvas. Made for summer!
Book a Unique, One-On-One Experience with Mary
I’m excited to offer one on one live video hang sessions including serenades, mini-concerts, and songwriting coaching via Topeka Live. Not only will you be getting a unique, individualized experience with me but you'll also be supporting Atlanta-based non-profit, Circles Morningside. Circles Morningside empowers men and women looking to lift themselves from poverty by providing apprenticeships and employment opportunities.
Virtual WoodyFest
Tune in July 14th, 18th, and 19th for Virtual WoodyFest. Three days of music and panels diving deep into pairing art with activism -- all in the spirit of Woody Guthrie! Here's where you can find me on Saturday, the 18th:
Something to Say: Making Music That Matters presented by Oklahoma Humanities
Saturday, July 18th, 2020 | 5:30pm CDT
Moderated by Barry Ollman | Panelists: Louie Pérez, Mary Gauthier, & Dr. Sunu Kodumthara
Saturday, July 18th | 7pm – 11pm CST
Hosted By Jaimee Harris
In Order of Appearance:
Jaimee Harris, Jared Tyler, Paul Burch, BettySoo, Chris Buhalis, Graham Nash, Crys Matthews, Seth Glier, Gregory Page, Samantha Crain, Tom Breiding, Matt Harlan, Bonnie Whitmore, Jacob Tovar, Branjae, B.J. Barham, Emma’s Revolution, Jamie Lin Wilson, Josh Okeefe, Tim Easton, Brennen Leigh, Seth Bernard, Raye Zaragoza, John Fullbright, Glen Hansard, Mary Gauthier, Jason Mraz, Jaimee Harris, Jimmy LaFave Archive
Sunday, July 12th: Sundays w/ Mary Live Stream: Lori McKenna, 2 PM, CDT, Mary Gauthier's FB Page / Mary's YouTube Channel
Saturday, July 18th: Virtual WoodyFest, 7 PM, CDT, WoodyFest
Sunday, July 19th: Sundays w/ Mary Live Stream: Carlene Carter, Mary Gauthier's Facebook Page / Mary's YouTube Channel
Monday, July 20th: Fallen Angels Club Long Weekend Live Stream, 2 PM, CDT, Tickets Here
Sunday, July 26th: Sundays w/ Mary Live Stream: Carrie Rodriguez, 2 PM, CDT, Mary Gauthier's FB Page / Mary's YouTube Channel
Sunday, August 2nd: Sundays w/ Mary Live Stream: Allison Moorer, 2 PM, CDT, Mary Gauthier's FB Page / Mary's YouTube Channel
Sunday, August 9th: Sundays w/ Mary Live Stream: Rodney Crowell *Benefitting Music Health Alliance*, 2 PM, CDT, Mary Gauthier's FB Page / Mary's YouTube Channel
Sunday, August 16th: Sundays w/ Mary Live Stream (Guest, TBA) 2 PM, CDT, Mary Gauthier's FB Page / Mary's YouTube Channel
Sunday, August 23rd: Sundays w/ Mary Live Stream (Guest, TBA) 2 PM, CDT, Mary Gauthier's FB Page / Mary's YouTube Channel
Sunday, August 30th: Sundays w/ Mary Live Stream: Slaid Cleaves, 2 PM, CDT Mary Gauthier's FB Page / Mary's YouTube Channel
How to Keep Music (and One Another) Alive | New York Times
NASHVILLE — On June 27, as Covid-19 cases were rising to a crisis level in Tennessee, the country music artist Chase Rice held a concert outside the Historic Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary in Petros, Tenn. Packed tightly together and wearing no masks — at least none that were visible in the video Mr. Rice posted on Instagram — fans seemed unconcerned that a deadly pandemic was unfolding around them. And probably among them, too.
The video has since expired, but the backlash against Mr. Rice — and also Chris Janson, who played to a similar crowd in Filer, Idaho — was fierce. Coming on the heels of an image that circulated on social media of a packed bar at Kid Rock’s Big Ass Honkytonk and Rock ‘n’ Roll Steakhouse in Nashville’s tourist district, it seemed emblematic, a giant middle finger to the pandemic itself.
I’m as outraged as anyone at the sight of people making choices that will inevitably cost lives and prolong the pandemic, but I can understand, at least a little bit, why Mr. Rice held that concert and why his fans showed up.
Bands once supported themselves primarily through record sales. But then music went digital, and Napster, the early file-sharing platform, changed the industry almost overnight. I haven’t thought of Napster in years, but the shuttering of clubs and concert halls during this pandemic has reminded me of something the musician Rich Brotherton, my husband’s lifelong friend, heard Loudon Wainwright say at a concert some 20 years ago: “You’re file-sharing the food right out of my mouth.”
Today’s streaming services, which pay out a fraction of a cent per play, are marginally fairer than outright piracy, but their chief value to a performer is the opportunity to reach new listeners: If someone falls in love with a song, that new fan is apt to buy a concert ticket when the artist performs nearby.
Musicians can’t pay their bills if they can’t perform, but it’s not like Chase Rice had no options for waiting out the pandemic safely. Other musicians have found new ways to reach their old audiences. “Live From the Drive-In,” with performances by country, rock and rap artists, and the “Drive-In Theater Tour,” featuring Christian artists, offer concerts with social distancing baked in: Fans bring their own refreshments and stay with their cars, tailgate-style, for the whole show. At the country artist Keith Urban’s pop-up drive-in performance for front line medical workers in May, the audience “clapped” with their headlights.
Far more common are online performances streamed live and archived for those who missed the show. Last month Sturgill Simpson live streamed a benefit concert from the stage of Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium to an empty hall. Every week she’s in town, Marshall Chapman streams a “Saturdays at Springwater” show from the oldest continuously operated bar in Tennessee. Mary Gauthier streams both a concert series, “Sundays With Mary,” and master classes in songwriting. Mr. Brotherton’s Irish band, Úlla, can no longer keep its weekly date at an Austin club, so the musicians have moved their Sunday evening shows online, each performing from their own homes.
But for all its better-than-nothing virtues, a digital concert doesn’t have even remotely the power of a live performance. And the experience of seeing an artist in the flesh — or on a jumbotron — is only part of the draw.
The real beauty of an in-person concert is the relationship between the audience and the performer, and among members of the audience. It’s the feeling of being a part of something huge and beautiful and fleeting. A live musical performance, whether it’s in a stadium or in a storied concert hall or in the shabbiest dive bar on the loneliest back street, is a shared experience of transcendence. As Rosanne Cash wrote in a recent essay for The Atlantic, a live performance is an irreplaceable act of reciprocity: “They needed something from me, and giving it to them gave something back to me. I loved them. They knew it.”
These may seem like frivolous things in the context of a global health emergency, but they are not at all frivolous in the context of fear and isolation. It’s an awful lot to ask of performers to give up performing, and it is an awful lot to ask of fans to skip their shows.
Expecting people to do the right thing when the right thing flies in the face of human nature is never a good bet. Until it’s safe to sing along in public again, the only answer is for leaders to show some backbone and lock down the concert halls and the bars. Last week Nashville’s mayor John Cooper did just that.
If we ever hope to experience the transcendence of live performance again, we’re going to have to support the artists we love until the pandemic passes. We’re going to have to put some money in the tip jar at virtual concerts. Buy the T-shirts and the ball caps with the band logos on them. Above all, we’re going to have to start buying records again.
“The LPs and CDs that musicians would have on their merchandise tables at shows across the country are there to be had on their website stores right now,” the Nashville music journalist Craig Havighurst told me in a recent email. Buying the merch “is the most potent way fans can help artists survive this crisis.”
If people can get in the habit of buying records again, it would go a long way toward helping musicians and songwriters survive the pandemic and beyond. “This is the best possible time to rethink our consumption habits as fans for the short and long term,” Mr. Havighurst pointed out. “We should strive for an ethos where we stream to discover and purchase what we love.”
Margaret Renkl is a contributing opinion writer who covers flora, fauna, politics and culture in the American South. She is the author of the book “Late Migrations: A Natural History of Love and Loss.”
The Times is committed to publishing a diversity of letters to the editor. We’d like to hear what you think about this or any of our articles. Here are some tips. And here’s our email: letters@nytimes.com.
Follow The New York Times Opinion section on Facebook, Twitter (@NYTopinion) and Instagram.
Correction: July 6, 2020
An earlier version of this article misspelled the surname of a country music artist. He is Chris Janson, not Jansen.
Boy George Covers Mary Gauthier's "Mercy Now" for Rolling Stone
Boy George covers Mary Gauthier’s “Mercy Now” for Rolling Stone.
For our latest edition of In My Room, Boy George shares an intimate performance — accompanied by guitarist Kevan Frost — from a private spot in London. He performs “Frantic,” as well as an acoustic version of his song “Isolation,” followed by a cover of Mary Gauthier’s “Mercy Now.” Get the full story at: http://www.rollingstone.com/
Sundays with Mary: Stories, Songs & Requests
May News
Join us on Sundays, 2PM CT!
We hope you are all staying healthy and safe! We love hearing from you, and appreciate you staying in touch and tuning in with us on our livestream shows these past few weeks.
I will be going LIVE from my Facebook Page and YouTube Channel during the month of May on Sundays, from 2-3:30PM CT. I will share stories and songs and will be taking your requests! I will also be reading short excerpts from my new manuscript.
This past month our special guests have included Jaimee Harris, Michele Gazich and Ben Glover. We hope you will join us in the month of May!
"Truckers and Troubadours"
4/20/2020
Written by Mary Gauthier, Darden Smith, Paul Marhoefer
Truckers and troubadours
Trying hard not to keep score
White lines and rearview towns
Too late to turn back now
Dashboards and dials
Getting paid by the miles
Missing old friends we knew
They were just passing through
Truckers and troubadours
Photo credit: Joe Perez, Vancouver Folk Festival, 2015
Thank you for connecting with Michele Gazich, my violin player who has toured with me for many years. We really appreciate the outpouring of love and concern for Michele on Facebook as we continue to share his stories from his cabin in Bergamo, Italy.
From Michele's Desk, April 22nd:
"Once a week, I walk the same pathway. I go down to the village by the lake, where the shops are, to buy some food. I say I 'go down' because I live on the slopes of the mountains, facing the lake. It's my only walk every week in the times of the coronavirus. I respect the rules, because the increase of death in the cities of Bergamo and Brescia where I live is more than 200% (!) than last year. I hate rules, I am an artist. I like to be free. I am free. But I go out only once a week for food with mask and sanitary gloves. I respect the rules because dead people are too many and I respect them.
So: this only walk is precious. I focus on every step. I love this pathway. It was built hundreds of years ago, before the cars. It's ancient, like most of Italy...When I enter the pathway, on both sides of it there are dry stone walls. I used to touch these stones with my bare hands. Now I wear plastic gloves and I can't touch them. But I look at the stones and I remember the sensation when I could touch them. I love these walls and I love these stones. I admire the skill of the people that built these walls. It's art. I meet all these unsung artists of the past through their work. I love these people.
...I didn't meet anybody on my pathway, but the truth is that I've met a lot of people. Things aren't mute. The pathway was crowded. Many souls wanted to tell me their stories this morning."
John Prine Tribute
Like so many song lovers and music fans, the death of John Prine has been painful and difficult for me. I had the privilege of working with John, opening shows from 2004-2006. The help this gave me with my career is immeasurable.
Whenever I tried to thank him, he'd say "You're welcome Mary, but I do it for me." Every night he'd invite me up on stage for the final song, Paradise, and when the chorus came, I'd sing it with him while he stared straight into my eyes. It was kinda like getting struck by lightning, or being electrocuted...but the energy came from love, and the feeling it left me with was one of being uplifted and asked to rise to the occasion.
As someone who did not see herself as much of a singer, those moments were powerful, wildly scary, and joyful. I will never forget them. John Prine was my songwriting hero, and my greatest teacher. As Todd Snider wrote in Rolling Stone, I couldn't believe I knew him, but I did. John infused pieces of his soul into every one of his songs, snapshots of who he was. It was a magic trick, and we are all better for it.
I will miss him terribly, and will listen to his songs, as I find my way to whatever's next. Here's a picture of us at The GRAMMY's the year before last, after we both lost. I said "Well, that was fun!" He said, "Yeah, it sure was. Guess we gotta get back to work."
For me, John Prine was the heart of Nashville. John was the reason I came to this city. He was my teacher, my songwriting hero, my friend. A brave truth-teller, who, with a wink and a grin, showed us who we are.
We songwriters have lost our reluctant leader.
He was the kindest man I knew, with the most childlike, beautiful heart.
God Bless John Prine Forever. Amen.
Sunday, May 3rd
Sunday, May 10th
Sunday, May 17th
Sunday, May 24th
Sunday, May 31st
All Sunday Shows are at 2PM CT
Country Music Hall of Fame: Songwriter Sessions
"Songwriter Session w/ Mary Gauthier,” LIVE from the Archives, 2015. I'm honored to have this performance and Q&A included in the Country Music Hall of Fame's "Music is Strength" series this week!
"It takes strength to unpack raw emotions into songs, and it takes strength to step on a stage or into a studio to express that vulnerability to the world. Those songs, those expressions, tend to edify those who listen, too. This week, we're spotlighting artists, songs, and moments that reveal strength, and underline how music strengthens us."
-- Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum
4/26 Live Stream with Ben Glover, 2PM CT
Ben Glover and I wrote "Oh Soul" on the road in Denmark. About a week later, we shot this video on a whim on an iPhone, backstage at The Button Factory in Dublin, Ireland. It was May 9th, 2013, the day after Robert Johnson's birthday.
Ben will be joining me this Sunday, 4/26, on our weekly LIVE show on FB
and also on my YouTube Channel at 2PM CT.
We hope you can tune in!
Want to play along? Download the chord chart to “Another Train” by Mary Gauthier and Ben Glover below! Play along to the song with us during our live broadcast!
Tip: Right click and choose “save file as” to download, or just click to print the chord chart.
Mary Gauthier Tour Update
Mary Gauthier Tour Update
UPDATED APRIL 28TH, 2020
Hi Friends! Thank you for being so patient with us as we work to reschedule these early 2020 dates. Please find an updated tour schedule below. This is subject to change as we learn more information.
All original tickets should be honored for the rescheduled dates. For confirmation and more info, please contact the venue directly. Thank you!
3.22.20 Midpines, CA | Yosemite Songwriting Retreat
RESCHEDULED FOR 10.9.20
3.24.20 Fayetteville, AR | Roots HQ Listening Room
POSTPONED/TBD
3.26.20 Little Rock, AR | Oxford American | CANCELED
3.27.20 Tomball, TX | Main Street Crossing
RESCHEDULED FOR 7.21.20
3.28.20 Winnsboro, TX | The Bowery Stage | CANCELED
3.29.20 Tulsa, OK | The Woody Guthrie Center
POSTPONED/TBD
4.2.20 NYC | The City Vineyard
RESCHEDULED FOR 11.1.20
4.3.20 Plymouth, MA | The Spire Center for the Performing Arts
RESCHEDULED FOR 10.29.20
4.4.20 Cambridge, MA | Club Passim | CANCELED
4.5.20 Northampton, MA | The Parlor Room
RESCHEDULED FOR 10.30.20
4.9.20 Galveston, TX | Old Quarter Acoustic Cafe
RESCHEDULED FOR 7.23.20
4.10.20 Austin, TX | Cactus Cafe
RESCHEDULED FOR 7.22.20
4.15.20 Felton, CA | Felton Music Hall
RESCHEDULED FOR 11.11.20
4.16.20 Berkeley, CA | Freight & Salvage
RESCHEDULED FOR 11.12.20
4.17.20 Sebastopol, CA | Hopmonk Tavern
RESCHEDULED FOR 11.13.20
4.19.20 Sacramento, CA | The Sofia | CANCELED
4.26.20 Ft. Lauderdale, FL | Broward Center for the Performing Arts
RESCHEDULED FOR 10.4.20
4.27.20 Tampa, FL | Straz Center
RESCHEDULED FOR 10.5.20
4.29.20 Sarasota, FL | Private Event
RESCHEDULED FOR 10.6.20
5.15.20 Chattanooga, FL | SERFA Conference | CANCELED
5.16.20 Cherokee, TX | Cherokee Music Festival
RESCHEDULED FOR 2021
5.23.20 Martinsville, OH | Nowhere Else Festival
RESCHEDULED FOR 2021
6.17.20 Piermont, NY | Turning Point Cafe
RESCHEDULED FOR 10.27.20
6.18.20 Albany, NY | The Linda
RESCHEDULED FOR 10.28.20
6.19.20 Hopewell, NJ | The Hopewell Theater | CANCELED
6.20.20 Phoenicia, NY | Phoenicia United Methodist Church | CANCELED
6.21.20 New Haven, CT | Cafe Nine
7.9-11.20 Nashville, TN | Performing Songwriter Creative Workshop
7.19.20 Dallas, TX | Cafe Momentum
7.21.20 Tomball, TX | Main Street Crossing
7.22.20 Austin, TX | Cactus Cafe
7.23.20 Galveston, TX | Old Quarter Acoustic Cafe
8.13.20 Taos, NM | Casa de Musica Songwriting Workshop
8.25.20 London, UK | Nell’s Cafe | CANCELED
8.27.20 Tonder, UK | Tonder Festival | CANCELED
9.11.20 Sisters, OR | Sisters Folk Festival
10.4.20 Ft. Lauderdale, FL | Broward Center for the Performing Arts
10.5.20 Tampa, FL | Straz Center
10.6.20 Sarasota, FL | Private Event
10.9.20 Midpines, CA | Yosemite Songwriting Retreat
10.27.20 Piermont, NY | Turning Point Cafe
10.28.20 Albany, NY | The Linda
10.29.20 Plymouth, MA | Spire Center for the Performing Arts
10.30.20 Northampton, MA | The Parlor Room
11.1.20 NYC | The City Vineyard
11.11.20 Felton, CA | Felton Music Hall
11.12.20 Berkeley, CA | Freight & Salvage
11.13.20 Sebastopol, CA | Hopmonk Tavern
Stories and Songs Podcast
Thanks to our friends at Designing The Row for featuring me on the Stories and Songs Podcast!
“This episode kicks off a new series on the Stories and Songs podcast called the Designing the Row Client Sessions. Mary Gauthier was one of my first DTR website clients back in 2016 and I still remember putting together the Lyrics and Behind the Songs pages on her website. Not because she was one of my first clients, but because her words and stories are SO moving. When I started this podcast, Mary came to mind immediately as someone I would want to feature. When I asked her, she sat down to record these story intros for me immediately.
The first song you’ll hear is called “Mercy Now.” Not only has Mary recorded this song, but it’s been cut by multiple other artists as well. It’s the title track of her 2005 album that No Depression Magazine voted the No. 6 Record of the Decade. That same year she was named New Artist of the Year by The Americana Music Association, hit Top 10 Lists for the year in New York Times, LA Times, The Daily News, and Billboard Magazine. And more recently, Rolling Stone Magazine named it One of the Saddest 40 Country Songs of All Time. I’m tellin ya - Mary knows how to tell a story that hits you right in the feels!
The second song you’ll hear is from her latest GRAMMY nominated release, Rifles & Rosary Beads. It’s a song called “Stronger Together.” Every song on the album was co-written with or for wounded veterans. This one she wrote with a group of wives about the bond they share together.”
- Katherine Forbes, Designing The Row
4/15: Instagram LIVE With Guitar Mash
I will be going LIVE on my Instagram Channel (@marygauthier) Wednesday, April 15th at 4PM CT/5PM ET with Guitar Mash. Please join us on Instagram tomorrow for a virtual campfire and sing-along! Bring your guitars, banjo's, mando's....and come play along too!
Remembering John Prine
April 7, 2020
For me, John Prine was the heart of Nashville, the reason I came to this city, my teacher, my songwriting hero, my friend. A brave truth-teller, who, with a wink and a grin, showed us who we are.
We songwriters have lost our reluctant leader.
John was the kindest man I knew, with the most childlike, beautiful heart.
God bless John Prine forever, amen.
Sending my love to Fiona and everyone in the Oh Boy family tonight.
April Newsletter: Connect With Michele
April News
Connect with Michele
Hello friends. I hope this message finds you healthy and safe. We know that a lot of people are hurting right now, and we would like to stay in touch during these difficult times.
As you probably know, all of our April tour dates have been postponed. Some of those have already been rescheduled for the fall. Please visit my website for updates, as things are constantly changing and evolving. If you had tickets to a show that has been postponed, please contact the venue directly or hold onto your tickets for future use.
We will, however, be performing a LIVE streaming show this Saturday, April 4th, at 5PM Central Time to benefit Club Passim. More details below.
Many of you know Michele Gazich, my violin player who lives in Bergamo, Italy. Michele is a very close friend and has been a very important part of my live shows, as well as the Rifles & Rosary Beads record. We have shared stages together all over the world for over a decade. I have been sharing his updates from Italy on my Facebook page over the last few weeks.
Michele lives in the red zone of the COVID-19 virus in Northern Italy. He is in a safe place, a cabin away from the city, reporting to me what is happening in Italy. His stories are factual, heart wrenching and necessary. More than ever, I think it's important that we stay in touch with him now, as the rest of the world can learn from what is happening in Italy.
From Michele's Desk, March 22nd:
"To my American friends: It's difficult to write, to say something more meaningful than numbers. Maybe only Etty Hillesum could have something to tell us today: "One moment it is Hitler, the next it is Ivan the Terrible; one moment it is resignation and the next war, pestilence, earthquake or famine.
Ultimately what matters most is to bear the pain, to cope with it, and to keep a small corner of one's soul unsullied (7 July 1942)."
PHOTO CREDIT: ROGER LIPTROT
From Michele's Desk, March 21st:
"Today, March 21, UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) celebrates WORLD POETRY DAY. This is the message today from Audrey Azoulay, UNESCO Director: Arranged in words, colored with images, struck with the right meter, poetry has a power that has no match. This is the power to shake us from everyday life and the power to remind us of the beauty that surrounds us and of the resilience of the human spirit."
Long Haul Paul
Long Haul truck drivers are still working. They are out there on the highways right now hauling emergency medical supplies like masks, ventilators, soap, and raw materials that help manufactures build those things -- paper, plastic, alcohol. Grocery shelves must be restocked. Folks everywhere need more toilet paper.
My friend "Long Haul Paul" Marhoefer is one of those truck drivers. God bless him. Paul recorded this cover of "Mercy Now" after reading Michele Gazich's Facebook post about the priest in Bergamo, Italy who gave up his ventilator to a younger person.
Father Giuseppe Beradelli, the 72 year old priest who gave a respirator (that his parishioners had purchased for him) to a younger patient (who he did not know) passed away.
May God Bless Father Beradelli and have Mercy on us all.
Live Stream to Benefit Club Passim
Saturday, April 4th | 5PM CT
Please join me and Jaimee for a LIVE Streaming Show on my YouTube Channel this Saturday, April 4th at 5PM Central Time.
Our online show will benefit Club Passim, where we were originally scheduled to play this Saturday. We would love to see you there!
Just click the link below to tune in online.
Tour Update
Mary Gauthier Tour Update
Hello Friends!
We hope you are staying healthy during this difficult time. We wanted to let you know that all of our March and April Tour Dates have been postponed. Also, the SERFA Conference in May has been postponed until 2021. Please contact the venues directly for refunds, or hold onto your tickets for future use. We will let you know when we have the dates rescheduled.
As always, thank you for your support!
- Team Mary
Mountain Stage Podcast
Our entire set from the December 1st, 2019 Mountain Stage Radio Show (including songs not heard on the radio) is now available on the Mountain Stage Podcast, and can be found on iTunes and beyond:
3/10: All Hands On Deck! Tornado Relief Show at City Winery Nashville
Nashville: We hope to see you Tuesday night, March 10th, at City Winery Nashville for the All Hands On Deck! Tornado Relief Show Benefiting The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee. Please come out and join us for this great cause!
Featuring: Aaron Lee Tasjan, Buddy Miller, Dominic Davis, Emma Swift, Grant Lee Phillips, Jaimee Harris, John McCauley and Ian O’Neill of Deer Tick, Josh Rouse, Langhorne Slim, Lindsay Lou, Mary Gauthier, Maya de Vitry, Rachael Davis, Rhett Miller, Rob Ickes and Trey Hensley, Robyn Hitchcock, Ron Pope, Sierra Hull, Steve Poltz, Tony Lucca, Vanessa Carlton, Plus Special Guests.