Road Trip Music: Indiana
Carrie Newcomer sings of journeys of the heart, and of the spirit, of family ties and the threads of friendship, of encountering God in muddy boots and mystery in summer peaches. She is a Hoosier, brought up in Indiana and based there still.
“When I’m giving concerts I tell people I’m from Indiana and boy, that impresses them!” she says, laughing. “I think I have a very midwestern voice in my writing. And I have this great job where I get to travel all over, to see the desert in the southwest in spring and the autumn leaves change in New England, and then I get to
come home to my dogs, my sweetheart, and my house in the woods here in southern Indiana. Sometimes I’ll come back from the road and set my guitars down and just walk straight out to the woods by my house and take a deep breath.”
That connectedness to the land comes out both in the mystical and in the funny sides of Newcomer’s work, and make no mistake, she does have a dry midwestern sense of humor which serves as a nice balance to the serious stuff. She’s been known to write about the perils of e mail gone astray, a night at the bowling alley, and the many crazy names of small town Indiana fairs, for example. She draws thoughtful lessons from her home landscape, too, including a song based on fishing trip with her dad and another inspired by geodes, those common southern Indiana rocks which are dusty on the outside and may reveal bright crystals within.
As the Great American Road Trip makes its way through Indiana, take a listen to Carrie Newcomer’s album Before & After. You’ll find it a fine companion for the journey.
you may also wish to see
Music Road: late summer: two for the road
Voices: Carrie Newcomer: faith and laughter
Song Journeys
This is part of The Great American Road Trip, in which I originally partnered up with A Traveler’s Library to add musical ideas to the book and film suggestions for journeys through the regions of the United States which you’d find there. The Library is closed now, but I think you will still find the journeys through music interesting.
“When I’m giving concerts I tell people I’m from Indiana and boy, that impresses them!” she says, laughing. “I think I have a very midwestern voice in my writing. And I have this great job where I get to travel all over, to see the desert in the southwest in spring and the autumn leaves change in New England, and then I get to
come home to my dogs, my sweetheart, and my house in the woods here in southern Indiana. Sometimes I’ll come back from the road and set my guitars down and just walk straight out to the woods by my house and take a deep breath.”That connectedness to the land comes out both in the mystical and in the funny sides of Newcomer’s work, and make no mistake, she does have a dry midwestern sense of humor which serves as a nice balance to the serious stuff. She’s been known to write about the perils of e mail gone astray, a night at the bowling alley, and the many crazy names of small town Indiana fairs, for example. She draws thoughtful lessons from her home landscape, too, including a song based on fishing trip with her dad and another inspired by geodes, those common southern Indiana rocks which are dusty on the outside and may reveal bright crystals within.
As the Great American Road Trip makes its way through Indiana, take a listen to Carrie Newcomer’s album Before & After. You’ll find it a fine companion for the journey.
you may also wish to see
Music Road: late summer: two for the road
Voices: Carrie Newcomer: faith and laughter
Song Journeys
This is part of The Great American Road Trip, in which I originally partnered up with A Traveler’s Library to add musical ideas to the book and film suggestions for journeys through the regions of the United States which you’d find there. The Library is closed now, but I think you will still find the journeys through music interesting.
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Labels: american folk music, americana music, blogsherpa, bloomington, Carrie Newcomer, Indiana, songwriter, usa
9 Comments:
I met Carrie Newcomer once at a music festival and she was the most unpretentious, friendly, down-home person you could ever hope to meet -- just like her music. I'm so glad to see you covering someone so deserving of attention!
I haven't heard of Newcomer, but I'd like to listen to her music. As a person who's fallen in love with the Midwest, I like the idea of a performer who celebrates her roots here.
Thanks for bringing this artist to my attention. I haven't heard her music before, but now you've certainly piqued my interest!
Your Road Trip feature is fabulous. There are so many amazing pockets of individuality and it is great to see someone exploring them like this. Newcomer sounds like another winner.
Carrie Newcomer's music is the perfect accompaniment to southern Indiana movie, Hoosiers over at A Traveler's Library. Good call, Kerry!
This road trip is such a great idea. I'm enjoying it immensely.
"Connectedness to the land" is something we all seek in these days of over-industrialization. I look forward to listening to Carrie Newcomer's music. Thanks for bringing her to my attention.
Thanks for the introduction to Carrie Newcomer. I'll be adding her to my favorites on iTunes.
I love music with good, funny lyrics. I'm going to give her a listen. Thanks for discovering her for me.
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