I can’t remember the first time I heard a Mary Chapin Carpenter song. I’ve been singing “Down at the Twist and Shout” since before I knew what most of the words meant. Like all lasting musicians, through the years Carpenter grew and changed and her music has consistently evolved.
Carpenter has long been a respected name in the music industry. Her first album, Hometown Girl, was released in 1987 and earned a fair amount of airplay on college and public radio. Her biggest success came with Shooting in the Dark, which featured “Down at the Twist and Shout” and was quickly picked up by Country radio stations across the country. She followed it up with 1992’s Come on Come on, made up of a slew of Carpenter’s most popular songs, including “Passionate Kisses” and “I Feel Lucky.”
Carpenter’s latest album, Ashes and Roses, is a mature and, as always, well-written record. From hope to heartache, Ashes and Roses covers a wide range of emotions and capitalizes on the experiences of a now middle-aged woman. Though Carpenter has always picked apart her own life for the sake of her music, her fears and insecurities never seemed more visible than now.
She’s currently on tour in support of Ashes and Roses, bringing to towns across the country a perfect mix of self-reflection and a laid-back good time.
MARY CHAPIN CARPENTER performs Wednesday, Aug. 22 downtown at Taft Theatre with guest Tift Merritt. Buy tickets, check out performance times and get venue details here.
