April 2021 Newsletter | 📖 Pre-order 'Saved by a Song' + New Tour Dates Added
Hi Friend,
The release date of Saved by a Song is quickly approaching and there is a virtual event to celebrate it - On July 6th, I'll be in conversation with Allison Moorer and Parnassus Books here in Nashville! Pre-order the book and get access to the live stream event here.
I've added a handful of new tour dates to the calendar too! I'll be traveling up to the Northeast with Jaimee Harris opening a handful of dates. More to be announced soon...
If you use Bandcamp, I ask you to support independent artists THIS Friday (April 2) for Bandcamp Friday - 100% proceeds go to the artists behind the music. Also, I've added a few more records to my Bandcamp page.
Per usual, we have an amazing lineup for Sundays with Mary in April - Check it out below!
You can now download SEVEN of my records on Bandcamp!
JUST ADDED:
+ Dixie Kitchen
+ Mercy Now
+ Between Daylight and Dark
Make sure you follow my page and keep your eyes peeled for even more releases from the catalog coming soon!
In this 3-day workshop at the Cafe at Thistle Farms Education Space in Nashville, Mary will work with students of all levels to help them clarify the aim of their writing and discover their own, unique voice. Seats are limited and will fill up quickly, so enroll now!
Click here for more information.
05.15.21
CHEROKEE, TX
CHEROKEE CREEK MUSIC FESTIVAL
TICKETS
05.17.21
WINSLOW, AZ
ROOTS ON THE RAILS
THE GATHERING OF THE TRIBE
TICKETS
06.25.21
GALVESTON, TX
OLD QUARTER ACOUSTIC CAFE
TICKETS
06.26.21
AUSTIN, TX
CACTUS CAFE
TICKETS
06.27.21
DALLAS, TX
CAFE MOMENTUM
TICKETS
06.28.21
TOMBALL, TX
MAIN STREET CROSSING
TICKETS
07.06.21
'SAVED BY A SONG' VIRTUAL EVENT
PARNASSUS BOOKS
IN CONVERSATION WITH ALLISON MOORER
TICKETS
07.29.21
NASHVILLE, TN
CAFE AT THISTLE FARMS
WORKSHOP: FINDING YOUR WRITER'S VOICE
ENROLL
09.04.21
MARTINSVILLE, OH
NOWHERE ELSE FESTIVAL
TICKETS
10.27.21
ALBANY, NY
THE LINDA
TICKETS
10.30.21
PLYMOUTH, MA
SPIRE CENTER
TICKETS
11.20.21
FORT LAUDERDALE, FL
BROWARD CENTER
ABDO NEW RIVER ROOM
TICKETS
READ THE NEWEST ISSUE HERE
Dear Mary,
Have you ever written songs about family members that reveal things they might rather keep quiet about? How do you deal with that?
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
Album of the Year Nomination: September Newsletter
Welcome to my September Newsletter!
Hello from New Mexico, where I'm teaching songwriting and playing shows with Eliza Gilkyson this week!
I've been on the road all month with Michele Gazich, who plays violin and viola, and Jaimee Harris, who has been singing background vocals for us. We covered a lot of ground in August, and it has been a great joy to share the stage with them all month!
From playing Rifles & Rosary Beads songs in front of music supervisors in the HBO Offices in Santa Monica, to teaching songwriting at the Targhee Bluegrass Festival in Wyoming, to teaching and performing at the Rocky Mountain Folks Festival in Lyons, Colorado, to the big stages at the Philadelphia Folk Festival and the Fayetteville Roots Festival in Arkansas, we've been burning up the highways all month.
One of my favorite memories of this tour is meeting Nolan, the young man in the picture below. At just 8 years old, he was a student at The Grand Targhee Music Camp.
After Jaimee, Michele and I finished playing our set, Nolan came up to me and asked me if he could sing me a couple of songs. We went out to the patio and he proceeded to sing me EVERY verse of Folsom Prison Blues, and then sang Somewhere Over The Rainbow. His beautiful voice soared, and he stole my heart.
The next day at lunch he sat with us, and I asked him why he decided to learn Folsom Prison. He said he learned it because he liked that Johnny Cash went to the prison to sing for the guys inside. He said "I think it was kinda like what you are all doing with the Veterans." I said, "Nolan, I would have never thought of it that way, but yes, you're right."
He smiled and my heart exploded into rainbows.
What a beautiful moment, with a wonderful young man.
Rifles & Rosary Beads Nominated for Album of the Year by Americana Music Association
We are so honored that Rifles & Rosary Beads has been nominated for
Americana Album of the Year!
I will be performing The War After The War, from Rifles & Rosary Beads, at The Ryman Auditorium in Nashville during The Americana Honors & Awards Showon Wednesday, September 12th. I will also be playing quite a few showcases during the AmericanaFest Conference.
Please make plans to join us during the week of September 11-16th in Nashville for AmericanaFest.
Special thanks to Kathy Mattea for recording "Mercy Now" on her new album Pretty Bird, out September 7th. What a beautiful rendition. Thank you, Kathy!
"Like a hand extended to help you on your path, Kathy Mattea's new song, 'Mercy Now,' reaches out to touch the listener with a message of empathy." - Parade.com
What an honor for "Mercy Now" to be chosen as the closing song on the "Yellowstone" Season Finale!
"The scene at the end of the Yellowstone finale, as Kevin Costner walked toward the beautiful mountains and the music played in the background, really touched many fans' hearts." - Heavy.com
CLICK HERE TO SEE FULL LIST OF TOUR DATES
As always, thank you for your support! ~ Mary
Inspiration In The Rockies: March 2016
have drawn inspiration from this beautiful landscape and creative environment for my book, and am excited about the potential for a new project affiliated with The Banff Centre and friends Sam Baker, Jim White and Minton Sparks.
Hello Again!
I am on my way back to the Canadian Rockies this week! I am looking forward to performing shows in Alberta this month, including three dates with Sam Baker and one with Eliza Gilkyson.
I have drawn inspiration from this beautiful landscape and creative environment for my book, and am excited about the potential for a new project affiliated with The Banff Centre and friends Sam Baker, Jim White and Minton Sparks.
As I continue to teach songwriting in Banff and collaborate with other great writers in this tremendous setting, I am able to finally put to words some of my most important realizations about the mystery of writing songs. As a result, my book is starting to take shape now, and is starting to look more like a manuscript than a pile of thoughts that don't connect. Writing a book still feels like writing the longest song ever attempted, but my brain thinks in song, and I'm going with the flow!
Thanks again for following along on my journey and for all of your support and feedback as I explore this new territory. Below is an excerpt from the latest draft of my book. In the meantime, I hope to see you in Alberta this month or down the road this spring and summer!
~~~~~ "Songwriting is an art unto itself, and vision is what’s most important. A basic understanding of craft is necessary, but the art of songwriting is not about mechanics. The art is not about singing, guitar playing, or mastery of any instrument. It’s not about performance, show business, or even entertainment. It’s not about reading or writing music. The art of song is about combining vision, ideas and truth in an effort towards wholeness.
Basic knowledge of music and melody is helpful, but songwriting doesn’t require a music education. Emotional literacy is what matters. There are generations of timeless songs “written” by illiterate songwriters, and brilliant songwriters who don’t play any instruments at all. Irving Berlin, the composer of countless beloved standards couldn't read or write music. He played almost entirely in the key of F-sharp, allowing him to stay on the black keys as much as possible.
At the end of the day, songwriting is conjury. The conjurer is often as mystified as anyone as to where our creations come from. We often can’t explain how we do what we do because we don’t fully understand it ourselves. But in the right mood, with the right frame of mind, there’s a feeling of being an antenna, receiving, then transmitting, receiving, then transmitting. Great songs are more than words and music. Welded together just right, they become emotional electricity.
Songs are music and words glued together with magic. Songwriters apply the glue."
Please visit my Tour Page for all of the details about my upcoming shows in Alberta!
Thank you! - Mary