Mary Chapin Carpenter -Personal History. YouTube Snapshot
Five-time Grammy Award-winning singer, songwriter, and performer Mary Chapin Carpenter is set to release her highly anticipated new album ‘Personal History' on June 6 via Lambent Light/Thirty Tigers. The album is available now for pre-order.
Marking the 17th album of Carpenter’s career, ‘Personal History' was produced by Josh Kaufman of Bonny Light Horseman and recorded live at Peter Gabriel’s Real World Studios in Bath, England. The 11-track collection is her most autobiographical to date, offering deeply personal reflections and storytelling that highlight her renowned songwriting craft.
Carpenter draws inspiration from a line in Elizabeth Strout’s novel ‘My Name is Lucy Barton,' in which a teacher tells the main character, “You will only have one story. You will write your one story in many ways.” Reflecting on that moment, Carpenter shared, “I remember reading that line and taking an audible breath. In that moment, I said out loud to no one, ‘Oh, that's what the songs are.’”
Recognized by Pitchfork as one of music’s most reliable and empathetic songwriters, Carpenter has sold over 17 million records throughout her career. Her timeless hits include ‘Down At The Twist And Shout' and ‘He Thinks He’ll Keep Her.' In addition to her five Grammy wins from 18 nominations, Carpenter has earned two CMA Awards, two ACM Awards, and was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame. In 2023, she received the ACM Honours Poet’s Award.
Her most recent solo recording, ‘One Night Lonely (Live),' was nominated for Best Folk Album at the 65th Annual Grammy Awards. Recorded during a rare solo performance at Virginia’s Wolf Trap, the album spans her career and includes selections from her last studio album ‘The Dirt and the Stars.'
Earlier this year, Carpenter released ‘Looking For The Thread,' a collaborative project with Scottish folk artists Karine Polwart and Julie Fowlis. The album received critical acclaim, with Folk Alley calling it “a set of warm, introspective, and stunningly gorgeous songs” and The Arts Desk describing it as “an album of the year… a class act, heartfelt and beautifully crafted.”
Beyond music, Carpenter continues to explore new creative avenues. Her podcast Hope is a Muscle, launched last autumn, features in-depth conversations with guests including Joan Baez, Adriene Mishler, John Darnielle, and U.S. Congressman Jamie Raskin. The podcast quickly climbed into the top five music podcasts on both Apple and Spotify. In 2020, she also launched One Story, a three-part audio liner notes podcast created with poet Sarah Kay.
Following the release of ‘Personal History,' Carpenter will hit the road this summer and fall for a co-headlining tour with fellow Grammy Award-winner Brandy Clark. She will also perform at the Newport Folk Festival on July 27 and at Louisville’s Bourbon & Beyond Festival on September 12.
