Carrie Newcomer is a creative artist that has been mining a rich stream of spirituality in all that she does, over a career that now spans four decades, and counting. She stands as a potent force in the world, an advocate for change, and a lady for our times. She is a highly accomplished musician and a songwriter that has been active in the music industry since the 1980s.
To date, Carrie has released sixteen studio albums, two live albums, two greatest hits compilations, collaborated with numerous other artists and projects, received many awards and recognition for her charitable work, her causes and activities, including a role as US State Dept. cultural ambassador to India, Kenya, and the Middle East. She is a published author and has released three books of poetry, essays and short stories.
Carrie is also a regular podcaster and since 2017 she has co-hosted The Growing Edge podcast with author Parker J. Palmer. Her broadcasts focus on matters of philosophy, spiritual exploration, and inner growth. Her contributions with other authors, academics, activists, and organizations have also been widely acknowledged. Carrie also is very active in hosting retreats and workshops on the topics of songwriting, creative writing, spirituality and personal growth, art and activism.
I have decided to look at Carrie’s creative work since her first book of poems and essays was published in 2014, alongside her album of the same name, A PERMEABLE LIFE. The album was an early release on her own record label, AVAILABLE LIGHT, after Carrie decided to cease her existing contract with Philo, a subsidiary of Rounder records, and the label that had released her first twelve albums. In breaking away from her recording contract, she gave herself the room to grow in new ways and to explore the creative instincts that were not being met. At an earlier time however, the seeds of self-determination were perhaps already sown.
There was a musical collaboration released in 2011 titled EVERYTHING IS EVERYWHERE and this was the result of a previous visit to India in 2009. It formed part of an initiative to foster peace and spiritual connection across the continents and was a special alliance with the renowned Khan family, one that carries a rich legacy in celebration of their expertise on the Sarod, a traditional stringed instrument in Indian classical music. Carrie was joined on the project by her long-established music colleagues and trusted friends, Jim Brock (percussion), and Gary Walters (piano). It was a very special album and one that marked crossroads in her career. It was the first release on AVAILABLE LIGHT and marked a change for her in the way she distributed her music into the future.
I recall an early interview where Carrie spoke about the small examples of kindness that we can offer each other daily. She said that “kindness was the country cousin of love. Kindness washes the dishes when nobody asks.” There is an eloquence in her writing and in the lyrics that form and give shape to her songs of insight and understanding. Perhaps they arrive as a passing feeling, or as a reflection, or moments that dwell in the ether.
The unique joy of absorbing beautiful music is that we get to also experience it when woven into the fabric of the written word. It’s fair to say that mindfulness has always been at the heart of Carrie’s activities, her compassion and empathy aligning with her insights on the human condition as an integral part of her work, both as a creative artist and an educator.
This is never more so than on the opening song to her 2014 release, A PERMEABLE LIFE. That song is Every Little Bit Of It and it delivers a big hug to the universe in trying to embrace the miracle of living in this garden of Eden;
In the branches, in the whispering, in the silence and the sighs
And the curious promise of limited time
The answer to all our searching questions, right there for us, in the first song,
Something nameless and abiding
– that sense of the absolute that permeates all things (hence the album title).
Another song A Light In the Window is a reflection on how we gain perspective from our lives in the living of the days;
What would I change if the choice were mine?
I was doing the best I knew at the time
The quality of musicianship is of the highest level, with the sublime piano playing of Gary Walters, complimenting the violin craft of Chris Wagoner on The Work Of Our Hands, a song in celebration of all that nature brings in the simple things;
It is humble and physical, It’s only love made visible,
Yes now I understand, This is the work of our hands
Also, on the song Abide there seems to be the sense of passing on – perhaps letting the essence of all things flow into the moment;
Stay awake with me, And we’ll listen more intently,
To something wordless and remaining, Sure and ever changing, In the quietness of now
With The Ten O’Clock Line we are brought to a time in history when 30 million acres of Native American land was taken for the benefit of settlers. Such tragedy upon which the history of the USA was built.
The soulful rhythm on Room At the Table speaks of community and inclusiveness, a desire to unite as one;
There's enough if we share, Come on pull up a chair,
There room at the table for everyone
Amen, sister! No matter what our perceived differences, there is more than binds us together than tries to pull us apart.
Carrie also features renowned percussionist Jim Brock who is an innovator in the world of drums and percussion. Jim has travelled the world extensively as a performer and appeared on numerous recordings with his collection of percussion instruments, many from his Native American heritage. His use of table and talking drums is superbly placed in these songs and is subtly performed.
Carrie delivers these songs in a warm vocal tone that offers both comfort and hope. There is a great feeling of acceptance in the words of wisdom and understanding, Carrie drawing on both personal reflections, and also creating story songs in different character references, like the tale of an ageing couple in Forever Ray where the love of a lifetime winds down;
Like a watch that’s been turned too often and long, Ella and Ray began to wind down,
The springs and small gears had not lost their shine, But simply could no longer hold on to time
Equally, death and the impermanence of time are at the core of An Empty Chair and the passing of a loved one;
There’s an empty chair in the kitchen, There’s a quiet in the house
People say that time will heal, but I have my doubts
There's a cold side to the bed, and so I sleep downstairs, I don't want this empty chair
Writing You A Letter and Visitations both seek to address the fact that you cannot be what you observe. Whether you are simply a stranger passing through, on the road of life, or whether you seek to capture fleeting moments that are meant to only leave their faint tattoo.
The song Don’t Put Me On Hold has a levity in the gaiety and such clever wordplay;
It's a plot, it’s a plan, it's a scam, it's a clue. I just wanna talk to someone who can tell me how to fix, correct the mistake, The meaning of life, tell me it's not too late. I'm trying to be kind, but the truth be told, Please don't put me on hold.
Both flirtatious, and a wry look at the way our daily lives are influenced by so-called progress. It’s such a complete album and my abiding feeling is one of joy in the wisdom imparted and the wonderful musicians who lift the song structures.
Not content to rest on her laurels, and never one to stand still for too long, Carrie pushed forward and created The Beautiful Not Yet which was released in 2016. It’s another wonderful time capsule of all that is precious in the magic that music creates. The hypnotic opening song Lean In Toward the Light is driven by a Gospel rhythm, the communal harmonies and hand claps raising everyone up in a message of positivity. A Shovel and a Prayer follows and it is a whisper in your ear to stop searching and embrace the wonderful everyday;
For all your searching, There’s nothing to do
What you've been looking for, Is looking for you
Superb violin from Sumaia Jackson, cello from Natalie Haas, and banjo from producer Jayme Stone really bring the melody to life.
Cedar Rapids 10 AM is an invitation to a friend to share a moment on the road and a moment to unburden all that has been weighing heavily. Carrie sings so lightly on this song and there is an echo of Mary Chapin Carpenter in the delivery, no bad thing when your contemporaries are at your shoulder.
The changing of the seasons is the focus of the title track and the renewal of nature, celebrating the change;
The restlessness, The quickening, The almost but, Not yet
So beautifully considered and expressed.
The trio of songs Sanctuary, Help In Hard Times, and Three Feet Or So are written almost as guides to controlling what we can and not letting external factors we have no power over take an unreasonable toll on our positive energy. Not being in control is something that we all feel but if we can just focus on what impacts upon our immediate social circle, then there is hope and purpose;
This one knocked me to the ground, This one dropped me to my knees
I should have seen it coming, But it surprised me
Will you be my refuge, My haven in the storm, Will you keep the embers warm
When my fire’s all but gone?
Beautiful in every sentiment expressed. Together we make a difference.
The Season Of Mercy has a sweetly sensual melody and the sense of chasing a dream in motion. I’m sure I hear a sitar in the instrumentation, along with banjo, cello, violin and acoustic guitar blending into a seductively soft breeze that wraps around and tickles the senses;
Following out the thread, Humming the tune in my head
Just out of reach, Always out of reach
You Can Do This Hard Thing is a song that offers sage advice for the young and the old; no matter what the task or the internal struggle with hard times, we can endure with the right approach and attitude;
Impossible just takes a little more time
In the song When the Light Comes Down we are asked to take wonder in small things and to appreciate every nuance of our lives. The calming of discursive mind is the focus on Haunted and the ability to push through, something also visited on the song Help In Hard Times. The final song is The Slender Thread and it is a song of faith and gratitude, acceptance and forgiveness;
I never knew it would come to this, That world I knew would no longer exist
I can still feel it burn like a place you kissed, Holding on to the slender thread
Gary Walters on piano and accordion, with Jordan Tice on guitar and mandolin, deliver so impressively on these songs, along with the rest of the ensemble. The album is a favourite for me, purely in the depth of the wisdom offered and the sense of acceptance in the way that life can be perceived and lived. A high point and filled with such lovely musicianship.
So, how to follow on from albums that have defined your creativity in such a comprehensive and rounded way. Have you said it all in terms of defining a life perspective and a view of the true nature of humanity?
Perhaps, what you do is to simply take a step back and to admit that you really know nothing, as regards the subliminal depths in which the world operates. You review and move forward, set the start button again, gather old friends and true, and you create the superb music that exists on THE POINT OF ARRIVAL released in 2019 and examining a world where Learning To Sit With Not Knowing will define a new way forward with ongoing reflection upon the challenges and triumphs that life brings.
The song Writing A Better Story is all about that reboot and fitting the new paradigm. It’s all about positive mental attitude and moving forward with purpose. The Point Of Arrival looks at this learned experience and the knowledge that the present is in fact a jumping off point for a new beginning and the understanding that in order for life to evolve we must continuously be moving forward.
First we fold in, then open out
There is a faith that’s only found in doubt
Acceptance is the closing of a cycle
The end that marks the point of arrival
The entire encapsulation of the album concept is that of love, in all of its variety and forms, and the abiding message on It’s Always Love is that an awareness of the power in giving to another is at the centre of all things.
The Shelter Of the Sky looks to nature again and the hushed silences that carry important insights. The mention of Charie, perhaps a farmer of trees, is a reference that goes unexplained in the song, but it is really just about embracing others, and the moment. The lyric speaks of the realisation that living in the present is all we have to focus upon;
Everywhere you go, there you are
No matter where you land, no matter how far
The interplay between guitars and violin is a joy to experience in the sweet melody lines.
Impossible, Until It’s Not is proof of the way we evolve as a species. The urge to push forward at the point of learning new revelations about the earth and never giving in to lazy critiques that we have somehow seen all there is to see. Open minds and open hearts bring their own reward, even if the self-doubt can challenge our resilience daily. The ability to hold on is something to be acknowledged when the dark invades the light.
On the song That’s the Way Things Go Carrie reflects upon this need for understanding in the words that look out beyond our own internal struggles;
So be kind to everyone you meet
No matter what you see out on the street
You don’t know what people live down deep
The song Everything We Need really sums up the entire album in the lines that speak to our need to stop looking for answers in the external and instead to focus on our inner voice to guide us -
It's not out there somewhere
That's right
It's always been right here
Hidden in plain sight
This thought is further examined on The Only Way Out Is In, where the need to slow down our busy minds is a door to quiet calm, and the ability to reconcile our daily challenges. On the final song The Brink Of Everything there is acceptance and forgiveness as Carrie looks forward in her life and offers thanks for all that has been revealed in the learning -
Yeah, all the things that used to matter
No, they don’t need so much today,
Toss the seeds and let them scatter,
The birds and wind take them away
Til there is nothing in my way
A number of years pass by and the onset of Covid-19 pandemic brings new perspectives on our ability to just breathe and survive as sentient beings on this fragile planet of ours. A new album arrives in the shape of UNTIL NOW released in 2021, and the ten songs offer plenty to ponder. In the opening song A Long Way Up we have Carrie musing on our human insecurities –
Here in the great unravelling
So much of this is baffling
When breathing feels like gambling
Nowhere to go but here
Things come together then fall apart
We gather up our broken hearts
And endings are just a place to start
And so we start again
On both The Handing Over Time and I Give Myself To This we have an acceptance of the vast unknown and our small place in the grand scheme of things. We decide how to live the days we are given and the manner in which we shape a life. What is important seems to be more in the service of others and not what we strive to achieve. At all points mother nature looks on and the wonder of the eternal shines through. Throwing Rocks At the Moon is steeped in the frustrations of fate and destiny playing tricks on our best efforts to shape a life and the anger that rises can be directed at new targets in order to shape a positive from what appears as negative energies.
On the track I Will Sing A New Song we have the words;
I will sing a new song
The old one’s carried me this far and for so long
But it’s time to walk on
Embrace change, in all its forms, don’t fear new beginnings; again, a constant theme that runs through these albums and songs. Like Molly Brown features lots of iconic names in the fight for equality and justice, including Ruth Bader Ginsberg, Rosa Parks, and Lucreta Mott , where the activism of their example and work shaped the world for women to inherit as they fought for acceptance in a patriarchal society. All wrapped in a traditional country song arrangement. Yet, the ongoing fight for ongoing civil rights persists and there is no point in giving up the fight;
On the song Who Done It, Carrie states;
But it’s all right, it’s not too late
It’s just gonna take as long
As it’s gonna take
The fear of outside forces, such as the Covid virus, is tackled on When the Wolf Is At the Door and the conclusion that -
But when the old world ends
A new world starts
What finally comes together
First had to fall apart
Unconditional love is the subject on My Dog and the selfless love that animals give is something that we all try to be worthy of receiving. The unique qualities of simply being you should be enough to endure and to fulfil us in life, even if we cast doubt at every turn -
I’m doing the best I can
At least that’s what I plan
I’m trying to be the person that
My dog thinks I am
The final song On the Day You Were Born is perhaps a tribute to this very uniqueness and the simple fact that we make such a difference, simply by just being here. And having turned up we should try to make a positive contribution
It’s all mystery and motion, How the wheels of this world open
So, the album is one of affirmation, of belonging, of knowing that we make a difference and that we try to do our best in all that presents itself to us. The album is dedicated to her mother and Carrie is looking at the prism of life experiences down the lens of time. Passing a torch to those who need some light, but also shining her own illumination on inner strength and our ability to become more self–aware in our thoughts and in our deeds.
By the year 2023, Carrie is looking for a response to our inability to grow beyond the shock of the Covid years and she wants a new dawn to give hope – and A GREAT WILD MERCY is released to great acclaim;
I'm tired of all the rage, tired of all the worry
I'm looking for some peace, trying not to hurry
I’m leaning into something absolutely sturdy
I'm ready for a great wild mercy
On the song Start With A Stone Carrie wants a simple approach to our existence and how we communicate;
And through it all, As I’ve always suspected
The past and the future, Are right here, are connected
How true of everything that touches us.
Path Through the Evening Woods has understated violin and banjo accompanying a message of simple acceptance despite our hunger for so much more ;
I was born to be a restless soul, May I lean where love leads me to go
May I be ever mindful of what I'll never know
As I walk this path through the evening woods
The words capture empathy while expressing humility, and we also sense a spirituality. There is a deep wisdom here, an ability to embrace joy and abundance in the routine. On Potluck this sense of communal joy is brought to the table as a feast and the breaking of food with neighbours being the stuff that real love is made of.
Take More Time Cover Less Ground is slowing down to enjoy the simple pleasures in the days. Stop the rush to something that we cannot define
Time to pick it all up and to lay it back down
Time to know what I seek has already been found
Time to listen for what never made a sound
Time to take more time and cover less ground
The journey of the traveller is captured on the song Singing In the Dark and the acceptance of not having a final destination;
It's there at every hour, It happens everywhere
In the tenderest of times, In faithful, common prayer
Seen and unseen, For the many by the few
There is always someone
Singing in the dark for you
There are always questions in regard to how we live and how our life decisions can shape our route taken, yet dreams and aspirations will always lift us to continue the search for real meaning. The song A Tissue Or Two (Love Holds Steady) is a tribute to the love of parents who always seek to bring comfort and succour to a young child and to protect against the confusion that growing brings;
There’s power in what passes, For humble and small
Always shifting the balance, In spite of it all
Final song Another Day is a look at resting easy with the things that we cannot change in this world of pain and sorrow;
There are reasons to wonder, And witness to why
Troubled times coming, No way to deny
So, I’ll lean into you, As you quietly dream
And sense all that’s right, Still here and unseen
We all like a happy ending and the sense that everything works out in the end. Carrie displays her insights with a great sense of compassion and also vulnerability, opening herself up to criticism from those who see the world as a closed and cold place where survival of the fittest is all that matters. Carrie would much prefer take everyone along for the journey and to share in the common experience of elevating the spirit. Inclusion, not exclusion, in seeking that inner light that we all possess and in spiritual reflection. Community engagement and integrated commitment to change, fuel the activities of this spiritual journey towards greater enlightenment.
In the books of essays and poetry that Carrie has published over the years, she speaks of “an invisible spirit that shines below the surface of all things.”
It is a theme that runs like a golden thread and weaves through all of her creative output. I started this review at a juncture in her life where Carrie had stepped away from her recording contract and made the decision to commence her own label.
The album that launched this new phase in her career was A PERMEABLE LIFE, and the first song on that record contained everything that you need to know when walking with her along the paths that have led to her place in the world as a self-realised and contented artist in the centre of her own power and truth ;
We sense but can’t describe, From the corner of our eye
Something nameless and abiding, And so we keep transcribing
If you are discovering her music for the first time, then there are two Greatest Hits albums that appeared in 2004 - BETTY’S DINER: The Best of Carrie Newcomer, and 2012 KINDRED SPIRITS: A collection. In 2017- LIVE at the Buskirk-Chumley Theater was released and it is a concert from Bloomington, Indiana, the place where Carrie now resides. Half of the eighteen songs featured are taken from THE BEAUTIFUL NOT YET album from 2016. Across the albums featured, Carrie has worked mainly with talented musician David Weber on production. A long list of talented players grace her recordings, with Gary Walters an ever-present, alongside Jordan Tice as key contributors.
Long may Carrie’s musings and thoughts find their way into transcribed form and into the music that is inspired from her creative self. Join Carrie on this shared journey towards self- awareness, knowledge and perspective; all bound in a comforting warmth of kindness, humanism and loving awareness for her fellow travellers. This lady is a potent force for all that is good and pure in the world.
This appreciation was written by Paul McGee