Photo: maggierosemusic.com
Maggie Rose
Maggie Rose
In the midst of Nashville-based singer-songwriter Maggie Rose’s search for the perfect title for her third studio album, she kept coming back to the phrase “have a seat.” The phrase was in her songs “What We’re Fighting For” and “You Got Today,” the eventual first and final track on Have a Seat, which came out earlier this year. It seemed to cover all the bases for her, promoting the collection’s theme of inclusivity, empowerment, and healing.
“To me it’s an invitation to the listener,” says Rose during a recent interview prior to her Dec. 16 performance at Shank Hall. “This is a place for anyone who wants to participate and enjoy. It’s about us gathering together once again after a long period of not being able to do so. It’s about people exchanging ideas in a compassionate way and making room for everyone at the table.
“And it’s about me finding my place in this musical landscape that is all my own. We all have that space that only we can occupy, and I think I’ve found where I belong.”
Rose says more comfortable expressing herself vocally and arranging the music with her band. The album is a rich tapestry of sounds. It’s an eclectic mix of rock n’ roll, soul, folk, funk, and R&B.
Finding the Sound
“Those components have always been there in my music but in the past my versatility hasn’t been celebrated as much. I think because I have been releasing music for a while and because I started doing so in the space of commercial country, people have expected me to not veer off course,” she says. “However, I feel like I have been in the process of finding the sound that is authentic to me so instead of trying to align with people’s ideas of what my music should sound like, I tried to stay true to myself.”
While she recorded many of the songs pre-pandemic, she feels that message resonates even more with the events of the past year and a half.
“I always expect songs to morph from the day they are written because we attribute new meaning to them as we live our lives along with them,” she says. “One example of that evolution is that I had an entirely different sequence for the album before the pandemic began and it felt appropriate to rearrange the sequence so that the album opened with ‘What Are We Fighting For.’”
Prior to her performance in Milwaukee, the Shepherd Express caught up with her to talk about recording and connecting with her peers and fans.
What was the most surprising and challenging songs to write and arrange from the album?
“Help Myself” was thrilling to write. The lyrics seemed to fall out and there were a lot of great lines thrown out that didn’t even make the final version, but in the studio that one was the difficult child of the bunch. I think Sarah Tomek (drums) was fundamental in making it fit because she came up with an inspired New Orleans type beat that emphasized all the quirkiness of that song. It is the outlier of the record musically and lyrically but it’s one of the factors that makes the album so dynamic.
What was it like getting to record the album at FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals, AL, with Ben Tanner of Alabama Shakes? How did Ben and that environment impact how the songs turned out?
Just crazy. That room is a magic shrine to all things soulful and it demanded excellence out of all of us. Thinking about Aretha, Etta, The Allman Brothers and Otis recording in that room upped our game. Ben Tanner is a master at facilitating an environment where people feel safe to share ideas and the collaborative energy in the room was so special.
You recently shared a fantastic cover of Carole King’s hit “I Feel the Earth Move.” Why did you pick that song? What does the song and Carole mean to you?
I was set on that song choice because it is an iconic song from a legendary album and the challenge of reimagining it was heightened by the fact that so many people would be familiar with the original version. I wanted to pay tribute to Carole King’s timeless Tapestry which has been reliably present throughout my life, and it felt especially significant to do so in the year that the album turned 50. The record was especially comforting to me during the pandemic, and I listened to our vinyl regularly to find solace in the familiar. It was also healing to get the band together in the absence of touring and collaborate to make this song our own.
The song premiered during your time hosting a segment at SiriusXM’s Rock & Roll Hall of Fame station, which was recorded at the hall. What was it like getting to host a segment highlighting the female inductees from this year? What did you learn through that experience?
It was just cool to be in that building where all of those women received that honor and pay homage to them during my spot as guest DJ on a station that celebrates so much great music. The only difficult part of curating the playlist was that there were so many more songs I would have liked to add to the list. It was very special to be able to premiere our version of “I Feel The Earth Move” on the show right after playing Carole King’s original version, too.
Next year you’re doing a third season of your podcast Salute The Songbird. On the show you go in-depth with many of your female musical heroes (i.e., Nancy Wilson, Brandi Carlile, Yola, Mickey Guyton, Martina McBride, etc.) about their lives in and out of music. What inspired you to do a podcast like that and what do you hope it achieves?
One of the best parts about living in Nashville and touring with other great artists is the camaraderie and wisdom you share from being in that community together and when the pandemic hit, I was missing all of that terribly. I knew how isolated I felt, and I thought the best way to remedy that would be by connecting with women in the industry I admired and wanted to celebrate. The podcast has sustained because there are so many people who have found comfort in these conversations, and it has heightened my appreciation for my sisters in the industry. It has made me a better musician and made me feel connected to my community in a time where that was really difficult to do.
