Basic Folk – Courtney Marie Andrews

Courtney Marie Andrews seems anciently wise in general, but on her new album Loose Future, she’s particularly tapped into some cosmic intelligence. Growing up, CMA spent a lot of time alone, so we naturally started our conversation there. People have been isolated in the last few years, which can be sad and scary, but also offer certain gifts. Courtney was able to quarantine during the first summer of the pandemic on Cape Cod. She grounded herself by walking six to eight miles daily and exploring herself “forever against the backdrop of summer.” She painted, reconnected with nature and wrote a song a day. Those songs resulted in the new record.

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She made the album at Flying Cloud Recordings in New York, taking a dip in the creek every morning before getting to work in order to embody the feeling of letting love in: “Sometimes you plunge, and sometimes you walk slowly in,” she says. We discuss how that practice got her ready for the day and the ins and outs of several of the songs. We also get into the intentionality she put into the beat for Loose Future. She wanted to make something modern with a driving percussive beat, but Graceland was also an inspiration. CMA ended up at a few distanced drum circles during the pandemic that felt very healing and communal. Enjoy Courtney Marie! She’s brilliant and offers so much foresight.


Photo Credit: Alexa Viscius

WATCH: Grace Morrison, “Mothers”

Artist: Grace Morrison
Hometown: Cape Cod, Massachusetts
Song: “Mothers”
Release Date: March 13, 2020

In Their Words: “I’m a new mom. My son and I spend our days talking and singing about the world around us. I’ll often find myself in sing-song: ‘Here is a tree, there is a leaf.’ It struck me, however, that I am a very lucky mother. There are mothers right now separated from their children at the US border. Women who fought like hell to get their children to our border. There are mothers who have lost their children to gun violence. It was in that moment of realization that I knew my job is bigger than teaching him about plants and animals. He’s got to see the not so pretty stuff too. And hopefully, if I do my job right, he’ll live his life trying to right some of the wrongs that we all see every day… if we open our eyes.

“My cousin Cecilia is a senior in high school who has fallen in love with American Sign Language (ASL). This past summer at Falcon Ridge Folk Festival, there was an ASL interpreter during my set and I was truly moved by it. Because this song has such strong visual language I thought it was a perfect opportunity to include Ceci and her interpretation (which I think is really lovely). The message of this song is really important to me, so I’m hopeful that including ASL will help more people engage with the idea that we need to be mindful of both how lucky we are and the struggles of others.” — Grace Morrison


Photo credit: Paula Mailloux at Bongo Beach Productions

LISTEN: Monica Rizzio, “Don’t Keep Me Up Waiting”

Artist: Monica Rizzio
Hometown: Cape Cod, Massachusetts
Song: “Don’t Keep Me Up Waiting”
Album: Sunshine Is Free
Release Date: October 4, 2019
Label: Washashore Music

In Their Words: “Growing up on the music of Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard, Patsy Cline and Dolly Parton, my first instinct was to count beats like the the old country waltzes, 1, 2, 3… 1, 2, 3. Most of my writing the past few years has been a cocktail of one part Texas Roots, one part the miles of my boots, and I had never written a waltz before. The chorus for ‘Don’t Keep Me Up Waiting’ came to me before the rest of the song, as my husband and his buddies had a pretty good Sunday Night Irish Whiskey and Football ritual going on at the local pub last winter. They are totally harmless, were having a blast, but they are also totally clueless. This song is for them.” — Monica Rizzio


Photo credit: Joe Navas