Grace Morrison ~ 2024 July 1 ~ Wareham Free Library, Wareham, MA
Scroll to below video for a review of the show.
Video ... if a problem with viewing, go to Youtube and search by performer and date; the Youtube account is in the name "nicepace"
Beer In a Teacup
Review
It was such a treat to see singer-songwriter Grace Morrison in the town where she grew up, in the town where I spent summers as a child, the town where my family established roots when my grandmother bought property and built a house over a century ago. Grace performed for a bit over an hour, accompanying herself on guitar, singing mostly songs from her new album, Saltwater Country, now available for pre-order and due for release around the first of the year. A highlight of the show was when Grace's niece, Jolee Anderson, sang one song with her.
Her songs are folk, and pop, and occasionally have a bit of twang, and are literate, sympathetic, sometimes humorous. She's an insightful, often personal songwriter. We've been watching Grace now for one decade since we saw her for the first time at the New Bedford Folk Festival in July 2014. We've seen her perform solo, sometimes with a fiddler, sometimes with a range of musicians. She has a very strong and melodious voice with a broad range, and clear, beautiful diction. She's not a country singer at all, so don't let the saltwater country moniker fool you. She tells interesting and often poignant stories about the origins of the songs, and can be very funny and frequently touching in between the songs. She uses herself (two broken legs, from which she is now recovered); her brothers (both much older than she is, and somewhat opinionated, shall we say); her little son (five years old, and you know what that means), and other friends and family as fodder for stories, as well as subjects for songs, but she's never mean spirited, and leaves the audience feeling good about being alive.
I really love several of the new songs, including her opening song "Hold Me When It Rains" ... "Broken Things" which we've heard several times now ... the "Saltwater Country" title track ... a sea-shanty like number which I think is called "Glorious" ... a tongue in cheek number featuring her young son "Who's Raising Who?" ... "Poor Man's Daughter" about her family of origin ... the song I filmed, "Beer in a Teacup," about her grandmother ... "Massachusetts," about how much she loves this state. (I do too.)
It was perfect weather for an outdoor concert. Admission was a donation to the food pantry. A big thank you to the Wareham Library for sponsoring this wonderful Concerts On the Lawn summer music series.