"Let me check my 23 And Me app," Maren Morris declares as we're chatting away ahead of her European tour and teetering on the discovery that she’s 74 per cent Irish.
The singer, who made her name in the country genre with hits such as "90s Mercedes" and "My Church" and has since dropped collabs with everyone from Jessie Murph to Teddy Swims and Diplo, will soon be back on our shores with her latest album "Dreamsicle."
It's not been the easiest of few years for Maren, who has navigated a divorce in the spotlight, but she tells EVOKE she’s never been in a better place - and she can’t wait to visit the Emerald Isle.
"I always have a good time in Ireland," Maren says as she reminisces about past visits and reveals her strong connection to Ireland.
"Ireland is such a beautiful country and I love the cross hairs of Irish folk music and country music, that sort of Appalachian, string instruments and vocals… I think there’s such a beautiful thread. I grew up on traditional country and I have Irish in me, so maybe it’s on a cellular level that I feel connected to that country," Maren says, sparking the aforementioned dive into her apps.
She continues: "My dad’s side [is where the Irish connection comes from], a lot of my dad’s relatives are gingers, freckles and pale skin, I feel like my sister got most of those genetics. Let me check my 23 And Me app, I’m going to give you the actual percentage…74 per cent!"
An Irish connection begs the question of where in Ireland, but Maren’s not sure, something to suss out before her Dublin gig on November 3.
"I will have to call my dad, I’d love to go there and visit where my ancestors are from, maybe that’s why Ireland is one of my favourite countries to tour in. I’m coming home," she adds.
It’s clear Maren has a grá for Ireland and recalls one trip that ended in the most magical of musical ways and sounds like a fan's dream line-up.
"When I was in Ireland two years ago, I was opening for The Chicks, and our set time ended early enough for us to pop over to Hozier's show at Malahide Castle. It was the best night of friends and being in a beautiful place, and it was his hometown show," Maren recalls.
"[The night] was definitely like out of the blue, but I think that's the beauty of tours, it’s spontaneous and sometimes you catch yourself in the same city with your friends who are playing at the other venue.
"Weirdly, Hozier and I have a lot of cross-pollination between bands because a lot of his band are from Nashville. That was such a breezy night and also a beautiful venue, and he's just a gem," Maren says.
Hozier is among the list of stars with whom Maren has collaborated with over the years, with the Irish star lending his vocals to her hit song "The Bones."
"I’ve always been collaborative and being able to write with my friends and put out music with my friends and occasionally meet people through our duets. That’s sort of how I met Hozier," she recalled.
Maren adds: "He was a fan of my song 'The Bones' and I reached out and was like 'would you want to put your vocal on this and have a special release?' and I had not met him previously. Sometimes songs bring friends to you and I think that’s such a fun part of being able to make music."
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Hopefully, Maren will be able to catch up with a few friends when on tour in Europe over the Autumn, and fans can't wait to hear her new tracks live.
The European leg of the tour kicks off in Dublin and chatting about the album's release earlier this year, Maren says it was the most relaxed she's been able releasing a record.
"I think this was the least anxious I’d ever been for an album release, maybe because I just don't have anything to prove anymore," Maren says. "I’m seasoned, I’ve had some amazing success and valleys through this last decade in the public sphere of making music but ultimately in my personal life I just think I’m in a good place and I’ve made a lot of sacrifices to get to that peaceful place and I think that’s why it has made putting an album out less stressful because I’m just very secure in who I am now.
"It obviously took lots of trials and tribulations to write this record, that adage, that’s cliché but true, that everything happened the way it was supposed to, and I love this record and I'm so proud of myself and the people who helped me make it."
Maren adds: "Nothing is permanent or linear, I think with healing, especially from a divorce or any sort of massive life change, there are good days and bad days. There are days when I don't feel sure of myself or am feeling insecure or whatever, but I think the goal is for the majority of the days to feel like you're settled in yourself and your choices.
"An upside and a downside of being a creative person is that you are just such a raw nerve most of the time, and you feel things on an empathetic level. Maybe not in deeper ways than others, but it’s like constantly the antenna of empathy is up and it can get really exhausting, but what energises me is being able to write my way through it, and I feel like this record, 'Dreamsicle,' is very intuitive and risky.
"It's not all wallowing in self-pity or regret, it's very much sitting in this place of humor and having fun again, reconnecting with an inner child. There’s a lot going on thematically on Dreamsicle, but I think that's why I love it so much, and I'm so proud of it because it's covering so many facets of what's inside my head."
*This article was originally published on Evoke.ie.
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