Laurie Lewis, in my opinion, is the queen of bluegrass. She is a masterful storyteller, performer, and a special human being. It was an honor and an incredibly lovely experience to be with her; to talk with her, laugh with her, and celebrate her songwriting and musicianship.
In this episode, she sings about the town of “Barstow” while she delves into the background of how she came to write it. Then from her new album, “Trees”, she treats us to a song she wrote during the pandemic when she found out that her friend John Prine, the great songwriter, had passed away.
My own duet with my husband in our earliest years was so inspired by songs like “The Oak and The Laurel”, a song Laurie wrote with her music partner, now suffering with Parkinson’s Disease, who also painted the cover art for her newest album, Trees.
She has sung and played with her influences and some of the greatest musicians of our time. I think you can hear the people and the miles in her songs and in her voice. She is a special soul with whom it was a great pleasure to have the company of this special conversation, thanks for following and listening to the podcast!
Her New Album Trees:
Her impressive Discography
A Few of the Takeaways:
- Receive your songs like gifts from the cosmos
- Music helps us get through hard things
- Be an observer when you’re traveling around for your next song
- When you write your own songs you have something unique to sing
- Great songs can get away if you don’t write them down
- If you don’t write the song, who will?
- Don’t live life by your fears (always wise when we can remember!)