- 6 months ago
Maggie Rose sits down with Sid Evans on Biscuits & Jam to talk about her journey from Potomac, Maryland, to the Grand Ole Opry—with over 100 appearances and now a Grammy nomination under her belt. Plus, Maggie reflects on motherhood, the making of her album 'No One Gets Out Alive,' the power of her podcast Salute the Songbird, and why Old Bay Seasoning still holds a special place in her heart.
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LifestyleTranscript
00:00Well, Maggie Rose, welcome to Biscuits and Jam.
00:03Hey, Sid. I'm so excited to be here. I love this podcast.
00:07And I love yours. And it's, you know, it's so funny to talk to someone whose work I've followed.
00:15And we've interviewed, you know, a number of the same people.
00:19Oh, I think I've used your podcast as source material for sure.
00:26Likewise.
00:26Likewise. You've always got a, you know, really unique take on things.
00:32And anyway, it's great to have you on here.
00:35Thank you. I think the same about you.
00:38It's nice to have a conversation with a fellow artist for that podcast.
00:43And they can go wherever and I'm ready to let the audience and the guests kind of take it where it needs to go.
00:50There aren't many people doing what you're doing.
00:52I can't think of anyone off the top of my head, particularly someone who is an artist like yourself, who's doing these live interviews with people, which is, you know, which is such a different thing for an artist who's maybe used to playing in front of a crowd all the time.
01:10But it's very different to sit down and have a conversation and answer questions.
01:14Yes, it's a totally different performing aspect.
01:19And I love the fact that we've had the opportunity to incorporate a live audience component into it because I do think it makes me and the guest kind of rise to the occasion.
01:31We obviously like that energy of improvising and feeding off a crowd.
01:35And this podcast began because of the pandemic.
01:39So it was in the absolute absence of a crowd and of that community.
01:42So it's been really cool for me to have been doing this long enough to get to incorporate that and music, too.
01:50There's the live music aspect to it.
01:52You don't get to go in and edit the conversations when you have an audience in front of you.
01:58And I always want to make my guests feel as safe as they can.
02:04And we're talking about some pretty gnarly stuff sometimes because this industry is wild.
02:09And, you know, there's some vulnerable moments that we tread into.
02:15But these are all pros.
02:17They're used to being in front of an audience.
02:18But when you're singing lyrics, you know what's going to come out of your mouth.
02:22And when you're speaking freely about your experience as a musician or as a woman in the industry.
02:27You know, sometimes it can go to surprising places.
02:32Yeah.
02:32Yeah.
02:33I can't wait to hear you do one of those lives someday.
02:37I just need to coordinate that with the trip to Nashville and make that happen.
02:41We'd love to host you, please.
02:43Yes.
02:43That would be great.
02:45Well, I can't believe you're here, especially because you just had a baby like a month ago.
02:53I did.
02:53A little boy.
02:54Yes.
02:55Graham is his name.
02:57And he's already been backstage at an arena the other day in Asheville.
03:05He was in Susan Tedeschi's arms.
03:07And I was trying to tell him, you know, most 30-day-old babies don't get this opportunity to be cradled by a rock star.
03:15But he's, you know, this has been the wildest journey I've been on, you know, and being in this industry has its fair share of wild experiences.
03:28But it's something I've really wanted for a long time.
03:31And being a performer and a touring musician hasn't always been conducive to the idea of starting of a family.
03:37But, you know, you just figure it out.
03:40And I've realized there's such a tribe of women and men in this town and beyond who are there to support Austin and I as we begin this chapter.
03:49But it's just kind of something that I had to do to experience.
03:54And I was joking with Austin.
03:56I was like, I need to immediately call all my friends who have children and apologize because I thought I was there.
04:01And my sisters, too.
04:03Like, you think you're supportive, but I just realized, like, what you really need is just people to listen and to show up and kind of help.
04:13And navigating all the emotions that come with, you know, being postpartum is exciting, to say the least.
04:22Yeah, that's one way to put it, I guess.
04:24Yeah, the other day in Asheville was maybe the best way to reenter into the performing space because Susan and Derek have always been so welcoming.
04:35The city of Asheville, as we know, has been through hell and back since Helene.
04:40So this is a show that we've been really wanting to make up since November.
04:43And for so many reasons, it just felt like victorious for all of us.
04:50And for me to just be like, OK, I still got it.
04:54This worked.
04:55This didn't.
04:55I can reassess.
04:56And how do I want to pack the car a little bit better with a baby in tow?
05:01But it's a good reminder that this is just the greatest job in the world that I get to do this.
05:08And now I have an even bigger responsibility adding motherhood to it.
05:14That must have been great to be in Asheville.
05:16First of all, it's a music town.
05:17Yes.
05:18And secondly, I think just very, very appreciative of all the artists that have shown up there.
05:23You know, in the last six months, you can see what an impression it's made on so many musicians.
05:29And for me, it's always been a town I've associated with some great musical memories.
05:34I played at Salvage Station a couple of years ago, which is now totally gone.
05:39And it was this awesome venue.
05:41John Medesky put this killer band together and Othiel Burbage was there.
05:46And I met so many musicians that weekend.
05:49And I returned to Salvage Station for my birthday last year to play with Government Mule.
05:54And I've always had these audiences that are really, you know, they're big audiophiles.
06:00They like jammy music.
06:01They're open to discovering new artists like myself, you know, being the opening act in a lot of these spaces.
06:08I've walked away with people who just were really open minded.
06:13So to see them be so resilient and, you know, all of these people showing up because it was rescheduled even once again since November and then kicked further down the line because they weren't ready.
06:24You could feel the energy that night of people just the symbolism of that evening felt pretty profound.
06:32And Tedeschi Trucks is always going to be entertaining, but it just was a particularly uplifting night.
06:37Maggie, I guess I'm reaching you in Nashville at home, right?
06:40You are, yes.
06:41But you're from Maryland originally, right? Potomac?
06:44Correct, yes.
06:46Been in Nashville almost half my life now, but from Maryland originally.
06:50So tell me a little bit about your folks and what they did for a living there, how they landed in Maryland.
06:58My parents are and always have been super supportive.
07:02My dad was in sales.
07:04My mom is still working for a company called Payroll Network, and she's also just very tech savvy.
07:15She's been showing me how to use like generative AI in a way that actually makes sense for my life.
07:20And she's working on this software that helps employees and companies retain employees.
07:26I mean, she's amazing and also grandmother, and she was with me and my dad was with me in Austin for almost two weeks after Graham was born.
07:37So you kind of find a way to do it all.
07:39But I grew up in the D.C. area, and my sisters and I went to Catholic school from kindergarten until senior year, all of us.
07:51And I used to tour with the Bruce Springsteen Tribute Band when I was a teenager, which was a way for me to kind of get in front of an audience that wasn't like the church space that I was in.
08:06So it was like people who were coming out to bars to escape the rigors of life and hear some music and the B Street Band was kind enough to back me up.
08:17And my parents were driving me all over the place to meet this band and play some sets with them.
08:23It wasn't necessarily the most musical environment being in the D.C. area that I was aware of.
08:32I know D.C. has such a scene, but they were very helpful in facilitating those opportunities that I wanted to pursue to find out who I was as a singer and an artist.
08:44And when I started writing original music, it kind of became apparent that it was much more than just a singer and that the connection of a song and the emotions that it evokes are actually what compels me to make music, even more than just being able to sing a song in a pleasing way.
09:09And I moved to Nashville, you know, when I was a sophomore at Clemson, I got this opportunity to make a record with James Stroud and Tommy Mottolo was in my corner and I had a family friend who was from the area in D.C. investing in me.
09:29So I was able to make this career jump to Nashville and drop out of college without giving my parents a complete heart attack.
09:37But they were still really supportive.
09:40And Nashville was such a different town at that time, too.
09:43I was a teenager and the Gulch wasn't even a thing yet.
09:49Right. There was a station in there and pretty much that's pretty much it.
09:53Everything's been built around the station in.
09:55Which is still that still hanging on.
09:57Yeah. And hopefully it will continue to hang on.
10:01But, you know, I was kind of the the black sheep of the family, but they've always celebrated what I want to do.
10:08Both of my sisters are attorneys and I'm the one who swung a guitar over my shoulder and headed south to Nashville to make music.
10:19Who's the most musical person in your family other than you?
10:22I would say it's I don't want to insult anyone in my family.
10:27Um, but they've always been very celebratory when it comes to my singing.
10:34So I think I'd have to just credit all of them for not only tolerating me constantly singing around the house,
10:42but encouraging me to sing and perform for their friends when they'd have dinner parties.
10:46And, um, you know, just the fact that they would take these road trips with me to join this band of men who were all like my uncles.
10:57But the age difference was like 20 years and they were gung ho about it.
11:02Um, my dad can definitely carry a tune.
11:05I think they both have really great taste in the records they would play around the house.
11:10So I got exposed to some really good music, but I can't, I can't say that any of them would go beyond maybe doing a karaoke song with me or something.
11:22Okay.
11:23I didn't have a lot of people to collaborate with, I guess I'll say.
11:27So you were, you were an unusual talent in your family and had an unusual interest in music.
11:35I think that's a fair characterization of it.
11:38I mean, you mentioned the Catholic church.
11:40Was that a place where you, um, heard a lot of music or were, you know, inspired by anything that you were listening to?
11:49Yes. I mean, I was always in different choirs and I think what I associate the most with the church is that it gave me those first opportunities at a very young age to be standing on, you know, in front of a congregation as like a five-year-old taking a solo.
12:08And even though it's not a, an arena where you're supposed to be oohing and aahing and, and impressing the people watching, it was definitely the way that a, that word got out from an early age that I was able to sing and that I love singing.
12:25And I think there's just something kind of maybe precocious about seeing like a five-year-old just soloing regularly in front of a big, big group of people.
12:37And I think I also realized from a very early age that there was so much power in singing, you know, this room of adults all of a sudden was very still and connecting with each other when I would sing.
12:56And I loved, you know, kind of like a herding dog.
13:01I liked having everyone in the same room and I liked the fact that it could, it was palpable, like the change in the energy.
13:08You can see it.
13:08Yeah.
13:09And feel it.
13:09And it made people happy.
13:11It hooked me pretty early on.
13:13Maggie, you know, I've got to ask you a food question or two.
13:17Oh, please.
13:17As someone who's been at Southern Living for a pretty long time, I mean, you know, there are lots of questions about whether DC is kind of a, is it a Southern place?
13:28Is it not?
13:28And, and there are pockets of, you know, Southern-ness there and, and some incredible Southern food there.
13:35But then there's also aspects of that town that don't really feel Southern at all.
13:39And so, you know, on the food front, did you, did you grow up?
13:43What kind of food did you go around, grow up around, you know, what was on the table?
13:47That was a big topic of discussion when I moved to Nashville and especially singing more country early on was, you know, where do I fall as a mid-Atlantic girl?
13:55And, you know, the Yankees don't claim you and the Southerners don't really claim you when you're from Maryland.
14:00And there was so much country music in Maryland growing up and there was a lot of really great Southern food too.
14:06And I take great pride in having taught so many friends how to pick Maryland blue crabs.
14:14And I know that Louisiana also has great blue crabs, but I can unzip a crab really quickly.
14:21I've, I've, I've got that skill down and I've spent hours around picnic tables, picking crabs and hanging out with friends.
14:30And that's just one of those experiences that you can look up and be like, we've been here for hours because it's such a community thing.
14:40And I remember one time I had my band at my parents' house on the West River and we got a bunch of beautiful crabs, but they were a little bit smaller.
14:54And the yield of blue crabs, as you know, is not super high.
14:58You, you do a lot of picking for not a lot of meat, but the meat that you do get is arguably the best.
15:03It's hard one.
15:05Yeah.
15:05The best.
15:05One of the band members was getting a little frustrated with the tedious chore of picking the crabs.
15:11And my dad had to sort of be like, Hey, you don't pick crabs because you're hungry.
15:16You do it because of the ceremony of it.
15:19That's why it comes with the hush puppies and the corn and all the accoutrements that comes with crabs when you're eating them, because it is about the community.
15:28And I love Old Bay.
15:31I put Old Bay on maybe more things than they would suggest, like a great Old Bay Bloody Mary.
15:38I put it in my tuna salad.
15:41I think that it's just delicious on a sliced tomato.
15:45No, Maryland, I always associate with just like that summertime food.
15:50And then the best French fries you can get at Thrashers at the beach.
15:56Oh, and another thing that's good with some Old Bay.
15:59Yeah, absolutely.
16:00And some vinegar.
16:01That's kind of like that mid-Atlantic beach food.
16:05Some of the best sandwiches I've ever eaten are from those sub shops that are like, I know this is in Delaware, but in Bethany Beach and Ocean City, Maryland.
16:13And I don't know, there's, it's probably more nostalgia for me and association, but just like some boardwalk fries or Thrashers fries.
16:25Is Thrashers a place that you grew up going a lot?
16:27Yes, yeah.
16:28And even, you know, chefs that I have become friends with from touring around, they say like, that's the place you got to go.
16:37The spots that are your childhood favorites.
16:41And Dickie's frozen custard in Bethany Beach.
16:44That is just like some of the best ice cream moments I can think of.
16:51That's great.
16:52Those are the spots for me.
16:54Well, now you get to share them with your son who, you know, you can introduce all these things to.
17:02Another Maryland staple is, is Lito's pizza for me.
17:07I don't know if it's everywhere, but I know it's a Maryland thing.
17:10And the sauce is like a little sweeter and it's, I do, my favorite is green olive Lito's pizza.
17:18That might be a deep cut for most people, but it's a very popular item in our household.
17:25You know, the older I've gotten, I've become more of a foodie because traveling, it's like one of the joys of being a musician is getting to find the local spots.
17:34And you learn so much about the different communities that you're in just by going off the beaten path a bit.
17:42Is there a town in the South that you particularly look forward to when it comes to food?
17:49I'm not just saying this because I was just there, but Asheville, North Carolina has some amazing spots.
17:55There's one restaurant called The Admiral that I've been to several times.
18:01And that's certainly off the beaten path.
18:04And I know it's David Byrne's favorite restaurant.
18:07I went there for my birthday last year, the night before my show with Government Mule.
18:13And it reminds me of this neighborhood restaurant in East Nashville called Lachlan Table that I just, I go to often.
18:23And it changes the menu and they incorporate lots of seasonal local ingredients.
18:30So whenever I go there, I can expect to maybe try something new.
18:35And one time I just didn't even order.
18:37I just said, you, you pick what we have.
18:40Bring me whatever.
18:41Yeah, it was a good idea.
18:43It was a good decision.
18:44I've got to ask you about Clemson where you spent some time.
18:49So the people that I know who went to Clemson are pretty fanatical about that place.
18:58And I guess, you know, partly I'm talking about sports.
19:03But there's a loyalty there.
19:06And I'm just wondering what kind of connection did you have to that school?
19:11Did you have a good experience there?
19:12I did.
19:13I really did.
19:14I also feel like it was, my experience was such that I got a year and a half there.
19:21It was, I was studying music.
19:24I was in a sorority.
19:26I got the experience to move away from home.
19:30I was very drawn to Southern schools.
19:33I think just that was a big appeal to me from every college that I applied to.
19:41I auditioned for the music school and met a lot of the teachers that I'd be working with.
19:47And I was very taken with everyone that I met, particularly one professor, Dr. Matthews,
19:55who just was so welcoming.
19:57And, you know, they gave me a little scholarship.
20:00I'm sure my parents wish it was a bigger scholarship since I was going out of state.
20:04But the facilities were gorgeous.
20:08The football and tailgating environment was definitely appealing to me, too.
20:14We weren't as good as we are now at football while I attended there.
20:20But it was still such a cool experience to, like, dress up for tailgates.
20:25And I had my first bag of boiled peanuts at one of the Clemson tailgates.
20:31And I kind of got an immersion into that Southern culture by attending Clemson for a little bit.
20:41But it was a bit random for my family.
20:44I had so many people in my family who went to University of Maryland.
20:48And I could have gone there.
20:52And sometimes I wonder if I had gone there, if I would have had the bravery to move to Nashville.
20:58Like, I think everything happens for a reason.
20:59But I was also just maybe trying to spread my wings and, you know, experience something in a bit of a different way than other people in my family had.
21:12Didn't Lee Bryce go there?
21:14He did, yeah.
21:15And he's a friend of mine.
21:16And I have cousins that went there after me.
21:19Just so crazy to see what's happened to that town in terms of growth and how exciting it is.
21:25I just played a show in Walhalla, South Carolina, and drove to meet my sisters in Charleston.
21:31And I was like, wow, this place is unrecognizable.
21:35Like, there was basically just this strip when I did go to Clemson.
21:39And there was the Esso Club and Tigertown Tavern.
21:42And, of course, the stadium's always been impressive.
21:44But, I mean, it's become just like a little city.
21:48And I'm so excited for the growth that the university's gone through.
21:52But my experience was really special while I was there.
21:56And I still have friends that come out and see me at shows just from that short time that I was there.
22:02And very hard to get into.
22:04There were some very bummed out kids in Birmingham this year who did not get in and who were dying to go there.
22:12This is the most competitive year for college applicants, I think, ever.
22:18I mean, just across the board.
22:19It's a wonderful school to attend.
22:24So I wish everyone could have the experience that I had.
22:28But I also know that leaving was something that I had to do because I felt like I was not even split down the middle.
22:36I was split in so many ways.
22:37And I feel like even when you first asked me, like, tell me about growing up in Maryland and your influence and what brought you to Nashville, it gets even still after all these years almost difficult to just tell the story of how I got from Potomac, Maryland to where I am now.
22:56Because I think some of my most dynamic growth has really happened in the last 10 years.
23:01And I just luckily sort of followed enough of my instincts to stumble into this community in Nashville and become such a fixture here now.
23:14But it feels sort of erratic.
23:16Like, I just was like, OK, I'm going to Clemson now because I want to go somewhere in the south.
23:20All right, now I'm dropping out and going to Nashville and having the support of my family to do these things.
23:28Now, as an adult, you realize just how much that means, how crazy that means.
23:32And having a son, too.
23:33I'm like, would I let you do this?
23:35I don't know.
23:37But you just have to trust your instincts, which I certainly was allowed to do.
23:42But it's I'm even it's hard for me to organize that story of how I got here.
23:49Well, so you move there when you're 19, right?
23:52You move to Nashville, which is also hard for me to imagine, you know, just being on your own and kind of jumping into the deep end there.
24:04Tell me about like your first two weeks there.
24:07What was that like?
24:09I mean, was that kind of was it fun or was it scary or was it both?
24:14It was both for sure.
24:16And I moved in January, which if you know anything about Nashville, we're right on the time zone change line.
24:24So it gets dark at like 4 p.m. here in the wintertime.
24:28You know, I'm looking at all my friends posting pictures on Facebook of their lives resuming.
24:33And oh, Christmas breaks over and we're back.
24:37And I'm in this extended stay hotel in Green Hills.
24:42My sisters were so sweet and they stayed with me the first couple of days that I moved here because I didn't yet have an apartment.
24:51So I was going to be living in this hotel for a little bit and I didn't know, you know, where to where anything was.
25:01I didn't have my bearings yet, but I did have like I mentioned this friend of mine.
25:08His name's Tom Natelli and his family basically financed my early career and allowed me to make some great recordings, quality recordings and have a little bit of, you know, security so that my parents didn't think like, oh, my God, what have we done?
25:32We pulled her out of school.
25:33And then I also had Tommy Mottola, who used to run Sony, connecting me to, you know, different producers.
25:41And I had a record deal and like a lot of things that it just is kind of mystifying to even realize that I was given the reins to at such an early age.
25:54And the drawback of that also was that I was so green.
25:59I didn't know myself yet as an artist.
26:01Yes, I could sing and I could write some good songs.
26:07I had a good sense of melody, but I have to I had to go through what I've gone through to really.
26:14You hadn't experienced anything.
26:16Yeah.
26:17And, you know, those are my favorite artists to follow and watch.
26:20The ones that are very authentic.
26:24I know that word is thrown around a lot, but you want to see people who are living honestly.
26:33And it was very scary for me to be vulnerable at that time.
26:41And also I needed that life experience to write about.
26:45And I've made lots of records now and every time I'm still dialing it in more and more.
26:53But that's that's the special sauce, I think, is, you know, having something to say or being brave enough to say it.
27:00And I think lots of young people have many valid things to say.
27:04And there's artists out there who are younger than I was when I moved here who are making compelling and meaningful music.
27:12But and I don't blame, you know, the I was a very well behaved, studious kid.
27:19You know, going to this Catholic schooling for as long as I did, I was a rule follower.
27:25And that doesn't always make for the best artists.
27:28You know, I had to do some I had to have some deprogramming happen and experiment like with the sound that I was going to eventually settle on.
27:38And even today now it's a little bit more calculated when I do want to deviate and explore my sound.
27:47But it feels controlled, like I'm flying this plane and in control of it.
27:52But in the beginning, you need to just kind of create.
27:56And I think having so much infrastructure around me in the beginning was a blessing and also maybe something that I wasn't quite prepared to take the best advantage of.
28:09You know, I love that you're doing this podcast, Salute the Songbird, and you're talking to people at different stages of their career.
28:21And some of the people that you're talking to are kind of in the earlier stages, you know, of building a career and coming out with albums.
28:30And, you know, so to be able to share that kind of perspective that you have is very unique.
28:37You know, it's almost like a therapy session sometime.
28:40Really, truly.
28:42But, you know, some of the people that you've talked to who I've talked to as well.
28:48I mean, Grace Bowers, you know, who's, I think she's 19 now, maybe.
28:54Emily Ann Roberts, who I talked to recently, and I've heard your great interview with her and Brittany Spencer.
29:02And I'm wondering, like, what are some common themes that have emerged from all these conversations?
29:11You know, you're talking to women artists who are mostly based in Nashville, going through similar things.
29:19Are there some themes that have emerged when you kind of look back over the last few years?
29:25Yes.
29:25I think it's all of the women you just mentioned and everyone pretty much that I've had on the podcast.
29:36There's grace in transition.
29:37I think that's the big theme is just how they were able to, because they've all done amazing things and they've all had high points and low points in their careers.
29:49But it's the composure that they've kept in between those points that I think has allowed all of them to continue having great careers.
30:00And, well, you know, they didn't fall apart.
30:04And it's, you need to be rooted in who you are and know that, oh, I have the greatest record label backing me.
30:12Well, I'm just as great today as I was when I didn't have them.
30:16And I will be if this falls apart.
30:19So that's, I think, the common theme that always makes me leave inspired after these conversations.
30:28Yeah, it's a rocky road, you know, for everyone in different ways.
30:34And there's no, there doesn't seem to be any easy path.
30:41There's always, you're always going to get a curveball.
30:44You're always going to have people who are going to question your talent or how big you can be or what kind of audience you can reach or what kind of record you can make.
30:55Right.
30:56And those, like, that scrutiny comes with just life in general.
31:01But, you know, I think we all just need, we can't be validated by what we're associated to.
31:12I think if you want to be an artist, you need to realize that it comes from you.
31:16The hard work is going to need to be done by you at the end of the day.
31:22But it also kind of, a valuable lesson is, you know, when you're getting all that criticism, you can't take it to heart too much.
31:30And when you're getting all the praise, you also can't take it to heart too much.
31:33You have to make sure that you're pleasing yourself with the music that you're making.
31:38Maggie, you're someone who has performed at the Opry a lot.
31:45A lot.
31:46And it's the 100th anniversary.
31:48I'm wondering what your story was or what it was like for you the first time that you stood in that circle.
31:57How old were you?
31:58It was 2012.
32:01And I had my first single from my first album out.
32:04Uh, so I need to do the math.
32:07Yeah, it was very early 20s.
32:09And I had been in Nashville and releasing music for a few years at that point.
32:15And it was just like, gosh, how do I get invited to play the Opry?
32:21And Pete Fisher was the GM at the time.
32:25Um, and he was the one who invited me to play my first show at the Opry.
32:30And it felt really familial.
32:33I had way more people than I was supposed to on the guest list.
32:37So that was my first faux pas.
32:38I didn't realize I brought like 30 people with me.
32:41Um, but they didn't hold it against me.
32:44And, uh, they kept inviting me back.
32:46And, you know, from Mr. Jim, who checks you in at the front desk to Randy, the band leader, like everybody welcomes me when I come through the doors like family.
32:59But I also think what's impressive about the Opry is how much I've seen it change over the years since I've been performing there, where it's trying to invite artists that make Nashville great and all the tributaries that lead into country music.
33:19And I think they're exploring those more and more, and that's what's going to make them an institution that's going to be around for a hundred plus years is, you know, they're always kind of trying to examine, you know, their past and what's what their future is going to look like.
33:38And I'm very honored that they've let me continue coming back there because, you know, my music is definitely a little bit outside the bounds of what you would expect to hear at the Grand Ole Opry.
33:52Yeah, it's not traditional country.
33:53Yeah, right.
33:54Yeah.
33:54And there's some funky stuff.
33:56And, you know, it's fun to hear the band go there with me when I bring a song to them, like underestimate me, which is pretty funky.
34:04Um, but it's also, you know, really cool to be on the bill with someone who's, you know, top 40 country radio or Riders in the Sky who've been around or Dom Flemons who's, you know, more bluegrass.
34:18And it's exciting that they are reflecting what's going on, not only just in Nashville, but in like country folk Americana music.
34:33And they're using that space to expose their audience to it.
34:37I want to ask you about that song, Underestimate Me, um, which is so great.
34:42And, um, it's on, it's on your new album, uh, which is called No One Gets Out Alive, came out last year.
34:50Um, it was nominated for a Grammy.
34:53Yeah.
34:54Um, in the Americana category.
34:56Congrats on that.
34:58Um, and I saw, I saw you actually performing this with, uh, you were doing a version of it.
35:06I saw the other day with Marty Schwartz, which I love because I've followed him on YouTube for years.
35:12Um, and, uh, he's just, you know, he's kind of become a fixture, uh, for me.
35:19Just whenever I need to learn something, I look it up on the guitar and he, you know, he's done it.
35:24So, yeah, he is everybody's favorite guitar teacher.
35:30Um, but anyway, this song is so great and it kind of feels like an anthem for you.
35:38Yes.
35:38Is that fair?
35:39It's very fair.
35:40It was one of the earlier songs that was written before I had put the whole album together and I wrote it with friends of mine, uh, Chris Gilbuta and Henry Brill, who definitely knew the history of my career.
35:55And, um, I, you know, I think it was more, uh, out of fun and empowerment that I wrote it, but there was some stuff that I was getting off my chest by writing that as well.
36:08And there had been a bit of, uh, uh, uh, time lapse since my last release and I was ready to put some new music out and that was kind of my way of saying, like, I got something for you and it's just been a minute, but I haven't lost the motivation or confidence in what we're doing.
36:32Well, there's a lot of confidence in that song for sure.
36:35Yeah.
36:35Yes.
36:36Sometimes fake it till you make it is the way to go.
36:39And I think, you know, a lot of times I've, and I've spoken to my guests on Sleep the Songbird about this.
36:44It really can be a secret weapon to be underestimated because if people are going to be silly enough to not expect the best from you, then it's going to be very easy to exceed their expectations.
36:57And, and, and impress them.
37:00And that's sort of another theme that I've gathered from the podcast.
37:06I'd ask everyone at the end of the podcast, what's your favorite part about being a woman in this industry?
37:11And there was always like some version of them saying, you know, being underestimated because it's our superpower.
37:18I want to ask you about another one, um, on that album and it's the title track.
37:23So it's called No One Gets Out Alive.
37:26It's, you know, it's kind of a sneaky one, um, because it starts out quiet and then it just builds and builds into something really big.
37:39And just tell me a little bit about that one and what those lyrics mean to you.
37:46Well, I love that you touched on that aspect of the dynamics because that's very intentional.
37:53I know it's sort of opens up like a flower and it has this humble start and then it ends like live and let die almost.
38:04I was, I was a little worried.
38:05Paul McCartney, I know.
38:07I was like, this, uh, could be dangerous for people driving and hearing the song for the first time because at the end it just does explode.
38:15And that's sort of the emotion of it.
38:18It's like that burst of energy and like living life to its fullest.
38:23And, um, um, I was going through just some loss in my life.
38:31Um, and I had a lot of friendships that had sustained some damage from the pandemic.
38:38And it just was, uh, becoming apparent to me that like nothing's guaranteed and you kind of have to go for what makes you happy.
38:49And that was a title that I had in my arsenal just rolling around.
38:53And I had a session with Natalie Hemby and Sonny Sweeney, and that felt like the appropriate time to write that song.
39:00And it just, uh, was sort of the catalyst for this album.
39:08I mean, that's, I knew after we wrote it that that was going to be the title of the record and things just started to fall into place thematically because I was just writing about what I was going through.
39:19All these songs are written within six months of each other.
39:22So that made the whole feeling, um, of the music and the lyrics pretty cohesive, um, inherently.
39:31So that song, um, was sort of like, you know, let, let it eat and don't hold back.
39:40And musically at the end, we certainly don't hold back because it felt like that's what the song was asking of us.
39:46Oh, it's great.
39:47It's just, you know, I love that kind of a song that, that kind of catches you by surprise.
39:52And it feels very kind of timeless as well.
39:56It feels like it could have been written, you know, yesterday or 20 years ago or 40 years ago.
40:02You know, it's just.
40:03There was a lot of, um, tapestry by Carole King being played in my house around the pandemic too.
40:08And it was its 50th anniversary when I was writing a lot of the songs for this record.
40:14Um, that same year that record turned 50 and there's just this Laurel Canyon bigness to it.
40:22That I wanted to incorporate.
40:24And I sort of set my mind to doing that.
40:29Like, let's make records that are timeless.
40:31And this one in particular was a bit of an homage to her and how that record has just sustained over all these years.
40:40Yeah.
40:40Well, there's a new version of it out now that has the bunch of live tracks on it.
40:46Yes.
40:47Yeah.
40:47As well, which is great.
40:49Um, we did that in the caverns in Pelham, Tennessee.
40:53So.
40:54Yeah.
40:55That was a bit of a challenge to record drums in a literal cave.
40:59I had done a show with St. Paul and the Broken Bones and we got the idea, but we're like, oh, it's different when there's a whole audience in here versus just like an empty, uh, cavernous place.
41:09But I think it sounds really cool.
41:11And I had great engineers help us dial that in.
41:14Um, and we wanted to do a more stripped down acoustic version of it too, to just have people focus on more of the lyrical content.
41:24Cause when we initially wrote it, it was almost like a folky, sweet song, sweet ballad.
41:29And then we took it to the studio.
41:31And of course the studio version takes it in a different direction.
41:35You've got, uh, an interesting year ahead of you.
41:38Um, and I know you're about to play some dates.
41:42You've got a four week old with the most beautiful head of hair I've ever seen.
41:48He really is very well endowed with the hair.
41:53Yeah.
41:53He's got an extraordinary head of hair.
41:55What are you excited about when you look ahead at the rest of 25?
41:59Being a mother is the greatest thing ever.
42:03I makes me want to work harder.
42:06Um, it makes me, you know, more intentional with the time.
42:12That I do have in terms of when I get a few hours, I'm better be doing something that brings me joy or writing a great song.
42:20I already have music that I recorded when I was expecting Graham because it was such an inspiring time.
42:29And this music is all about growth and transition.
42:33There's also something else that I've been working on simultaneously, but we're going to be releasing new music throughout the summer.
42:39And, uh, touring with Stapleton on some dates.
42:44I'm doing a bunch of festivals, just kind of figuring out how I'm going to do this with a little baby in tow.
42:50But after this show that we just did in Asheville, I'm feeling very encouraged and I have some awesome new players that have joined me for the summer and the live show is coming together in a really exciting way.
43:04So all these new beginnings, new music and new show and new life.
43:11Well, you know, in a lot of ways they're easier to travel with when they're that size, because they're just like a little package, you know, you can carry around.
43:19Yeah, absolutely.
43:20I mean, when he has to have an intervention and say that he's ready to have some normalcy in his life and go to school, then I'm, then I'll have to let him go.
43:30So, but he's going to be a little rock and roll baby.
43:32Yeah.
43:33And I've seen so many artists do it and it's very encouraging.
43:36And I have a village of helpers.
43:39So I get to be a mom and hang out with my family and make music.
43:45And that's pretty sweet.
43:47Well, Maggie, last question for you.
43:48What does it mean to you to be Southern?
43:50I think it means to be part of a community, taking your time to enjoy the wonderful things in life, like family and music and food, being proud of your heritage, but also discerning about where you want to take your life moving forward.
44:12Well, Maggie, it is so great to have you on this podcast.
44:16I've been a fan of yours for a long time.
44:19I will continue to be a fan and thanks for being on Biscuits and Jam.
44:23Thank you, Sid.
44:24It was so fun to be on the show.
44:26I love it.
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