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.

LISTEN TO BOY GEORGE SING "MERCY NOW"

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. 

Coming Soon...

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!

Buy Here

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.

Book Today

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

WATCH HERE

VIEW UPDATED TOUR SCHEDULE

LIVESTREAM SHOWS

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

JOIN US ON FACEBOOK LIVE

SUBSCRIBE ON YOUTUBE

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.

Sundays with Mary Continue!

June 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 from my YouTube Channel during the month of June 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.

Watch on Facebook
Watch on YouTube

Mary Gauthier Master Class: On Sale Now

I will am offering three Songwriting Master Classes on Zoom (Saturdays at noon CT) June 6th, June 13th, and June 20th. Class capacity is limited, so we can interact. Each class will focus on a different aspect of songwriting, but all of them will focus on finding and using your own songwriter's voice.

You can choose one, or you can sign up for all three at a 20% discount!

Enroll Here

"$20 Bill"
05/28/2020
Written by Tom Prasada-Rao

My friend Tom Prasada-Rao has written an incredibly important song that captures the zeitgeist. Please give a listen, please follow him, and please tell him I sent you. He's an Earth angel and I have tremendous respect for his courage. 

Listen to “$20 Bill”

Photo credit: Mary Gauthier, Seattle, WA, March 2020

Our Last Show Before the Shutdown

Jaimee and I landed in Portland twelve weeks ago for a three-show run. When we landed, we learned that two of the three shows had canceled while we were in the air. Mandated venue shutdowns due to Covid-19.

In my thirty-year career, I’ve never canceled a show, and I decided that if the last venue, The Triple Door in Seattle did not cancel, I would not cancel. Seattle, as of March 13th, 2020, was ground zero for the Coronavirus in the US.

My impulse is always to show up for the show, no matter what. I’d keep my distance, be safe, wash the hell out of my hands. I checked online to see how many cases of COVID were reported in Seattle. There were a little over a hundred, mostly from a single nursing home. The population of the city: 3.5 million. Given the odds, I felt ok about my decision.

We decided to wait it out in Portland a couple of nights, 'til Sunday morning, drive to Seattle. The first night in Portland we went to Marukin, my absolute favorite Japanese Ramen restaurant for dinner, then went back to the room and turned on the TV.

The virus was spreading.

I went to bed, woke up late, had some coffee in the room, and went back to the Ramen place again for lunch.

I stopped at the front desk to ask for an extension on my stay, the desk clerk said he’d received over a hundred cancellations that morning, and the phone was ringing off the hook. He looked freaked out. He gave me another night at half price.

Went back to the room, washed my hands.

We ate out again for dinner, tacos. The restaurant was nearly empty. Walked past hundreds of homeless people, in tents, on the sidewalk on cardboard, living in boxes with tarps, under blankets, grapes of wrath type desperation all over the downtown streets of Portland. So much suffering, so many without a bed or a home.

Washed hands before dinner and after.

Watched the news back at the hotel, the virus was spreading.

Woke up the next morning, drove to Seattle, checked into the downtown Seattle Kimpton Monaco. The hotel restaurant was closed, the valet, bored. I asked the desk clerk how many guests were here tonight, and she said they had 6 people confirmed, which included us. We checked in, stunned, then went out for a walk. We walked past The Triple Door, the venue where we would be playing the next night, and the marquee had my name on it.

I said to Jaimee, “Wanna take a picture?”

Then we both saw the man vomiting underneath the sign.

A horrible omen.

Jaimee said, “Not a good time for the picture huh?”

Continue Reading Here

View Updated Tour Schedule

LIVESTREAM SHOWS
Please make sure to follow me on Facebook and Instagram for the most recent show announcements, as streams are being added daily!

Sunday, June 7th: Sundays w/ Mary Live Stream w/ Beth Nielsen Chapman, 2 PM, CDT, Mary Gauthier's FB Page

Sunday, June 14th: Sundays w/ Mary Live Stream, 2 PM, CDT, Mary Gauthier's FB Page

Friday, June 19th: Green Note Live Stream w/ Darden Smith and Will Kimbrough, 2 PM, CDT, Green Note's YouTube Channel

Sunday, June 21st: Sundays w/ Mary Live Stream, 2 PM, CDT, Mary Gauthier's FB Page

Watch on Facebook

Subscribe on YouTube

05/10 Live Stream: *Rifles and Rosary Beads* Edition

Join us Sunday, May 10th for a very special Rifles and Rosary Beads edition of the Sunday stream! We’ll be broadcasting live from my Facebook Page and YouTube Channel at 2 PM, CDT. Want to play along with us during the show? Download the “Still on the Ride” chord chart below. See you on Sunday!

Tip: Right-click and choose “save file as” to download, or just click to print the chord chart.

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!

Sundays with Mary | FB LIVE at 2PM CT

"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

LISTEN TO 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."

Continue Reading

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.

LIVESTREAM SHOWS

Sunday, May 3rd
Sunday, May 10th
Sunday, May 17th
Sunday, May 24th
Sunday, May 31st
All Sunday Shows are at 2PM CT

05/03 Live Stream w/ Sam Baker, 2 PM CDT

I’m very excited to announce my friend Sam Baker will be our guest on Sunday! If you’re not familiar with Sam, start here with his Fresh Air interview with Terry Gross. We’ll be broadcasting live from my Facebook Page and YouTube channel Sunday, May 3rd at 2 PM, CDT. Click here to find out what time we’re going live in your city.

Want to play along? Download the chord chart to “Mercy Now” by Mary Gauthier 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.

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)."

Connect with Michele

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.

TUNE IN TO LIVE STREAM

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.

March 9th: David Olney Tribute Show

Monday, March 9th @6:30PM - TONIGHT
Please join us for a FREE tribute to David Olney at Belcourt Theatre. Doors at 6/Show at 6:30PM.

"A Celebration of Life for David Olney, the widely acclaimed and wholly unique singer-songwriter, is set for Monday, March 9 at the Belcourt Theatre in Nashville. Doors open at 6:00pm, and the event will begin at 6:30pm sharp. (Line will form outside of the Belcourt’s main entrance.)

The event for Olney is free and open to the public. Seating is very limited, however, and will be available on a first-come basis.

The celebration will include musical and spoken segments in recognition of Olney’s life as a husband, father, brother and friend, as well as the author and performer of brilliant works, including “Roses,” “1917,” “Deeper Well,” and hundreds of others.

A Nashville resident since 1973, Olney wrote songs that were recorded and performed by artists such as Emmylou Harris, Linda Ronstadt, Del McCoury, Steve Young, and Steve Earle, and released 20-plus solo albums as well as touring extensively worldwide. To peers such as Townes Van Zandt and Guy Clark, and a whole generation of younger followers, Olney served as a model of inspiration, artistry, generosity, and good humor.

Olney died January 18 during a performance in Florida. News of Olney’s death left musicians and listeners across the globe despondent, but the Belcourt event will be about the triumph of a one-of-a-kind man who lived on his own terms yet displayed remarkable empathy and tenderness to others."
- Belcourt Theatre

Emotional Alchemy: Survival As The Craft

March News

15 Years Ago
Mercy Now

People ask me how I wrote "Mercy Now," and "what was my secret?" These questions bring to mind an interview with the great Canadian songwriter Ferron. When asked about her brilliant song "Testimony," she said: "What is the formula for writing a song like that? I don't know, almost die? Be very depressed and not know who you are or who your father is or where you're going or what the purpose of life is and why does everybody hate each other and why did they hurt me? If you put all that together and sit down somewhere and weep, you might write 'Testimony.' It's not a craft. Survival was the craft."

"Mercy Now" came to me as a prayer and as an act of desperation. I wrote it in a time when the world around me was collapsing into darkness. The song brought me catharsis, and then, unexpectedly, it brought something else. I found peace in my heart where there was once anger and fear.

Fifteen years ago, on February 15th, 2005, we released the record Mercy Now. The title track, "Mercy Now," was named "One Of the Saddest 40 Country Songs of All Time" by Rolling Stone Magazine in 2014, and continues to be my most streamed and requested song.

While I would argue "Mercy Now" is NOT a sad song, but rather, a real song that ends in hope, it's always an honor to make a Rolling Stone "Top 20 Of All Time" List.

"Mercy Now" has been covered by Kathy Mattea, Bobby Bare, Candi Staton, and Mike Farris, whose album "Shine For All The People" won a GRAMMY for Best Roots Gospel Album in 2015. In 2005, "Mercy Now" was on the Top 10 Lists for The New York Times, The LA Times, The Daily News and Billboard Magazine. In the same year, No Depression Magazine voted "Mercy Now" as the #6 Record of the Decade.

"An album overflowing with beauty, raw emotion and unflinching honesty which established Mary as one of today's pre-eminent songwriters and earned overwhelming critical acclaim." - marygauthier.com

Thank you for all of your support for this record!

MARY GAUTHIER ON TOUR

March 6: Ann Arbor, MI
Green Wood Coffee House*

March 13: Portland, OR
Doug Fir Lounge*

March 15th: Seattle, WA
The Triple Door*

March 20th: Midpines, CA
Yosemite Songwriting Retreat

March 24th: Fayetteville, AR
Roots HQ Listening Room

March 26th: Little Rock, AR
South on Main

March 27th: Tomball, TX
Main Street Crossing*

March 28th: Winnsboro, TX
Winnsboro Center for the Arts
The Bowery Stage*

March 29-30th: Tulsa, OK
Woody Guthrie Center*

*with Jaimee Harris

VIEW ALL 2020 TOUR DATES