Americana singer-songwriter Cary Morin has accomplished a lot over the years. He’s charted at #7 on the Roots charts, won numerous awards, mostly in the blues arena, and performed at great venues, including The Kennedy Center, The Lincoln Center, and the Paris Jazz Festival. Now, he’s added a new challenge to this list of accomplishments: He’s gone country.
“I grew up around country, grew up around bluegrass,” Morin explained, “but I had never recorded anything like that before.”
The 14-track 2024 release Innocent Allies is a record about the late Charles M. Russell, a well-known Western artist and sculptor. The artist's work reflected the old West of the early 20th century, depicting scenes of the landscapes, cowboys, and Native Americans of the western frontier. With over 2,000 artworks, Morin had much to choose from when selecting the art he wrote songs about.
“I started writing songs about these paintings,” he said. “They are vivid…they have a lot of movement…a lot of action.”
He often presents the music in tandem with videos of the artworks themselves. While it was a goal to write all the songs so they could “stand alone” without the listener seeing Russell’s art, Morin enjoys knowing the richer experience he intended is also being appreciated. People will give him feedback indicating that they truly “get it.” They see how creative inspiration makes something more meaningful. Deeper.
“The colors in that song were awesome” is the kind of comment Morin will get from audience members. It’s hard to tell where the spirit of Russell leaves and the spirit of Morin takes over. That mix – that creative synergy – is when true artistic expression is in its highest state of revelry. There’s the artist, but there’s also the muse…both are present on solid footing.
In his case, Morin believes despite this record being country – and thus, a new style for him – it still feels familiar to his supporters. “I think there’s enough of my personality in it,” he said. “The songwriting isn’t a huge departure from what I normally do.”Morin said the questions he asked of himself before putting out his first straight-up country record were many, but they helped him make it better. “It created this conversation: Well, what IS country?” Morin explained. “Where does Americana stop, and country and folk begin?” Morin laughed, saying it sometimes comes down to something as simple as: “How talented is the pedal steel player?”
As a Native American, Morin said his heritage often affects his work…but not so much that it feels intentional. It’s just there, lying as an organic thing under the surface, a part of the scaffold that holds his worldview together.
“It’s always been present and a big part of how I look at the world and how I write songs, but it’s not real obvious to someone who isn’t familiar with my songwriting.”
For Morin, influences came from far and wide, and they blended seamlessly into something authentic. “My Dad was in the Air Force. We moved around a lot…but my mom was very connected to her family and our people. I listened to a lot of traditional music growing up, but also listened to a lot of Neil Young,” Morin laughed.
Just because he’s made a first country record does not mean his love for it -- and bluegrass -- is new.
“I was listening to Bill Monroe around the time Nitty Ditty Dirt Band made ‘Will the Circle be Unbroken.’” Morin said he eventually became a big fan of New Grass Revival and “southern rock that had acoustic instruments in the recordings.”
Today, he said his tastes and influences still run the gamut. For instance, he appreciates the funk of late, great fretless bass player Jaco Pastorius as much as he does the playing of Earl Scruggs.
“Music is music,” Morin said, offering the perfect three-word summation.
"Morin pic," is a photo credit for Gretchen Troop. Credit all other photos to "Backstage Flash."