Folk singer Mary Gauthier recently dropped by Rams Head on Stage to explore themes of loss with her partner Jaimee Harris accompanying her and opening the show.
Steve Satzberg was there to photograph the concert!
This article was adapted from a press release.
With her latest album, Mary has used her art once again to traverse the uncharted waters of the past few years. “I’m the kind of songwriter who writes what I see in the world right now,” she said.
Thankfully, amid dark storms of pandemic loss, she found and followed the beacon of new love: Her gift to us, the powerful Dark Enough to See the Stars, collects 10 sparkling jewels of Gauthier songcraft reflecting both love and loss.
Her 11th album, Dark Enough to See the Stars, followed the profound antidote to trauma, Rifles & Rosary Beads, her 2018 collaborative work with wounded Iraq war veterans. It garnered a Grammy nomination for Best Folk Album, as well as a nomination for Album of the Year by the Americana Music Association. On March 27 at Rams Head on Stage, Mary’s show focused on Dark Enough to See the Stars and also the albums Between Daylight and Dark (2007) and Drag Queens in Limousines (1999).
Watch the official music video for “Dark Enough to See the Stars” by Mary Gauthier on YouTube:
Publication of her first book, the illuminating Saved by a Song: The Art and Healing Power of Songwriting, in 2021, brought Mary more praise. Brandi Carlile has said, “Mary’s songwriting speaks to the tender aspects of our humanness. We need her voice in times like these more than we ever have.” The Associated Press called Gauthier “one of the best songwriters of her generation.”
Gauthier’s early work, which began at 35, reflected her newfound sobriety, delving into events from a troubled life, which persisted after she became a renowned chef in Boston. Dark Enough to See the Stars returns Mary to the scintillating confessional mode on such albums as her breakthrough release, 2005’s Mercy Now. In addition to crafting instantly memorable songs, Gauthier has never shied away from difficult self-exploration, as with 2010’s The Foundling, on which she explored the repercussions of her adoption from a New Orleans orphanage and subsequent search for her birth mother.
Read Steve Satzberg’s email interview with Mary Gauthier on Parklife DC.
On Dark Enough to See the Stars, she mourns recent devastating losses: the deaths of John Prine, David Olney, Nanci Griffith, and her beloved friend Betsy. But she also sings open-heartedly of love. All 10 tracks prove Gauthier’s belief, as stated in Saved by a Song, that “songs can bring us a deep understanding of each other and ourselves and open the heart to love.”
Here are some photos of Jaimee Harris opening Mary Gauthier at Rams Head on Stage on March 27, 2024. All pictures copyright and courtesy of Steve Satzberg.
Here are some photos of Mary Gauthier headlining Rams Head on Stage on March 27, 2024. All pictures copyright and courtesy of Steve Satzberg.
