Mary Chapin Carpenter, Brandy Clark

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MCC: Aaron Farrington/BC: Victoria Stevens

Mary Chapin Carpenter, left, and Brandy Clark.

Mary Chapin Carpenter, left, and Brandy Clark.

$99.50-$55.

media release: 5x Grammy Award-winning singer, songwriter and performer Mary Chapin Carpenter’s highly anticipated new album, Personal History, is out now. Stream/purchase HERE.

Already receiving critical attention, UNCUT calls it a “late career highlight” and continues, “Mary Chapin Carpenter has struck a deep vein of mature singer-songwriting that recalls the way Emmy Lou Harris surpassed everything she had done before with 2000’s Red Dirt Girl,” while Music Row declares, “Acoustic strumming, harmonica and spare percussion set the mood for her smoky alto delivery…Marvelously listenable.”

Carpenter’s 17th album was produced by Bonny Light Horseman’s Josh Kaufman (Bob Weir, The National) and recorded live at Peter Gabriel’s Real World Studios in Bath, England. Across the eleven tracks, Carpenter presents a set of songs more autobiographical than any collection that has come before.

Carpenter shares, “A novel that I’ve loved for years is My Name is Lucy Barton, written by Elizabeth Strout. There’s this moment where the main character is taking a creative writing course, and her teacher says to her, ‘You will only have one story. You will write your one story in many ways.’ I remember reading that line and taking an audible breath. In that moment, I said out loud to no one, ‘Oh, that’s what the songs are.’”

On the heels of the album’s release, Carpenter will join forces with fellow Grammy Award-winning artist and songwriter, Brandy Clark, for a special tour this summer and fall. The extensive run kicks off June 9 in Portland, OR and includes stops at New York’s Town Hall, Nashville’s historic Ryman Auditorium, Los Angeles’ Wilshire Ebell Theatre, Seattle’s Benaroya Hall, Denver’s Botanic Gardens, Minneapolis’ Orpheum Theatre, Ridgefield, CT’s Ridgefield Playhouse (two nights), Vienna’s Wolf Trap and Evanston’s Cahn Auditorium among many others. Additional summer performances include a return to the legendary Newport Folk Festival on July 27 and a stop at Louisville’s Bourbon & Beyond Festival on September 12. See below for complete tour itinerary.

One of music’s “most reliable and empathetic songwriters” (Pitchfork), Carpenter has sold over 17 million records over the course of her renowned career. With hits like “Down At The Twist And Shout” and “He Thinks He’ll Keep Her,” she has won five Grammy Awards (with 18 nominations), two CMA Awards, two ACM Awards, is one of only twenty-two female members of the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame and is a recipient of the 2023 ACM Honors Poet’s Award.

Carpenter’s last solo recording, 2021’s One Night Lonely (Live), was nominated for Best Folk Album at the 65th Annual Grammy Awards—exactly 30 years after her very first nomination. A rare solo performance, the album was recorded at Virginia’s legendary Wolf Trap and features songs from across her acclaimed career, including from her last solo studio album, The Dirt And The Stars.

Most recently, Carpenter released Looking For The Thread, a collaborative album with legendary Scottish folk stars and songwriters Karine Polwart and Julie Fowlis. Released to widespread praise, Folk Alley describes it as, “a set of warm, introspective, and stunningly gorgeous songs…It’s beauty and warmth touch our souls deeply, and each song is a many faceted gem of love and hope,” while Music Row calls the project “enchanting” and The Arts Desk declares, “It’s only January but this is an album of the year…a class act, heartfelt and beautifully crafted.”

In addition to her work as a musician, last fall Carpenter unveiled her new podcast, “Hope is a Muscle,” which finds her in conversation with people from all walks of life including Joan Baez, Adriene Mishler, John Darnielle and U.S. Congressman Jamie Raskin. During its run, the podcast was in the top five music podcasts on both Apple and Spotify Platforms. Previously, in 2020, Carpenter released the three-part audio liner notes podcast, “One Story,” with American poet, Sarah Kay.

About Brandy Clark:

A Grammy, CMA and Americana Award-winner, Brandy Clark is one of her generation’s most esteemed songwriters and musicians. Adding to her renowned career, Clark won Best Americana Performance at the 66th Grammy Awards and Song of the Year at the 2024 Americana Honors & Awards with her acclaimed song, “Dear Insecurity,” featuring 11x Grammy-winner Brandi Carlile. The track is from Clark’s self-titled album, which was produced by Carlile and features her most personal songwriting to date. Released to overwhelming praise, Forbes calls the record “an Americana Masterpiece,” while Variety proclaims it “further clarifies that she’s one of America’s treasures” and Billboard declares, “Clark continues to convey her inexorable talents as both a song-crafter and vocal interpreter.” In addition to her work as a solo artist, Clark has written songs such as “A Beautiful Noise,” the Grammy-nominated duet performed by Carlile and Alicia Keys, and Kacey Musgraves’ “Follow Your Arrow.” She also composed the music for the hit musical comedy, Shucked, alongside her longtime collaborator, Shane McAnally. With the show, Clark won Outstanding Music at the 67th Drama Desk Awards and was nominated for Best Original Score at the 76th Tony Awards, where Shucked received nine nominations overall.