Subscriber Benefit
As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe Now
Indiana singer-songwriter Carrie Newcomer is aware of the pressure applied by current events on day-to-day life, and she’s addressed social issues throughout her career.
But on new album “A Great Wild Mercy,” Newcomer wants to make sure external forces don’t steamroll the concept of personal well-being.
“There is news of the world and news of the heart,” she sings on the album’s title track, presenting a balanced perspective on what matters.
“There’s still a great wild mercy in the world,” said Newcomer, referring to situations when empathy improves a situation. “We see it and we experience it in our lives all the time.”
Released on Oct. 13, “A Great Wild Mercy” can be counted as the 20th album in the career of Newcomer, who grew up in Elkhart and lives in rural Monroe County. She’s made 17 solo studio recordings, a 2017 live album captured at Bloomington’s Buskirk-Chumley Theater and two 1980s albums made with West Lafayette-based band Stone Soup.
She remains steadfast in a belief that things can get better.
“I can do what one person can do, and that’s claiming tremendous power in my life,” Newcomer said. “The way I live my daily life matters. It has consequence and it shifts something in the world.”
The album’s title track mentions “an ever-present goodness” that’s accessible, even in challenging times. “I’m tired of all the rage, tired of all the worry, I’m ready for a great wild mercy,” Newcomer sings.
One of the album’s goals, she said, is to recalibrate life to “human size.”
“A lot of our media right now is coming at us so fast—faster than it ever has in human history,” Newcomer said. “We are getting so much information on a daily, hourly and minute-by-minute basis. It’s easy to feel overwhelmed by that.”
With a calm alto voice, Newcomer has connected with listeners throughout the United States and picked up high-profile supporters. Best-selling novelist Barbara Kingsolver is a longtime fan and 27-time Grammy Award winner Alison Krauss supplied guest vocals on Newcomer’s 2002 album, “A Gathering of Spirits.”
Nickel Creek covered one of Newcomer’s songs, “I Should’ve Known Better” on a gold-selling album. Nickel Creek vocalist-mandolin player Chris Thile subsequently founded bluegrass group the Punch Brothers, which now includes two musicians who played on Newcomer’s “A Great Wild Mercy” album: bass player Paul Kowert and fiddle player Brittany Haas.
“There’s a lot of interesting connections and a lot of cross-pollination in this style of crossover folk, alternative folk, bluegrass, classical, ‘What is it?’ music,” Newcomer said.
Newcomer’s next central Indiana performance is scheduled for March 9 at the Tarkington at Carmel’s Center for the Performing Arts. A string quartet will accompany Newcomer in Carmel.
Indianapolis-based pianist Gary Walters, who’s appeared on Newcomer albums since 2004, wrote the arrangements for strings.
“I love Gary’s sensibility and he’s created some beautiful, really stunning arrangements,” Newcomer said.
Newcomer’s personal appearance schedule isn’t conventional touring that’s associated with most musicians. In addition to the string quartet presentation, she performs as part of an acoustic trio, makes solo appearances, facilitates workshop and retreat events, and plays in churches and in fine arts centers.
“It gets very busy, but it’s also really rewarding,” she said.
Please enable JavaScript to view this content.