One Sentence Elevator Bio:
As songwriter, lover, mother, and witness, acclaimed Minneapolis Americana artist Sarah Morris invites us to join her in missing the forest for the trees, with songs that count and celebrate the glorious details of our messy, magical, everyday lives.
Short Bio:
2018 Kerrville New Folk Winner; twice-named Midwest Country Music Organization’s Songwriter of the Year, Sarah Morris aims to document the glorious details of our messy, magical lives. Called a “A bright, clear, brilliant songwriter” (L’Etoile Magazine), Morris wields a keen eye and a captivating voice offering poignant and relatable songs with timeless melodies.
“What a voice, never showy or seeking the limelight, just impressive within the requirements of the song and that in itself, in this day and age, is a rare thing.” – DANCING ABOUT ARCHITECTURE
‘Here’s To You’ Blurb, isolated:
Sarah Morris’ fifth album of original material begins with an ending and ends with an introduction. In between, the songs eavesdrop on intimate conversations between partners, lovers, friends, and family. Produced by multi-instrumentalist Dave Mehling, and featuring long-time bandmates Thomas Nordlund, Andrew Foreman, and Lars-Erik Larson, Here’s To You sees Morris explore a more lush, celestial flavor as she sheds some of the country swagger she’s known for. With layers of harmonies and synths orbiting the terra firma of her band’s guitar, bass, and drums, Morris’ clarion voice shines brightly. Recorded over the course of 2022, Here’s To You offers songs for celebration, for remorse, for grief, for steadfast promises – raising a metaphorical glass to the moments that make us who we are.
Third Person Short:
2018 Kerrville New Folk winner Sarah Morris’ endearingly honest, expertly penned songs deliberately miss the forest for the trees. Armed with a poignantly relatable rainy day ache in her sunlit voice, she weaves a winding path of masterful storytelling and timeless Americana melody that invites audiences to join her in celebrating the magic of our everyday minutia. Twice named the Midwest Country Music Organization’s Songwriter of the Year, Sarah has shared stages with greats like JD Souther, earned international airplay, and reached notable positions on the Americana Music Association and Euro Americana charts. Sarah released her fifth album of original material, Here’s To You, on May 5th, 2023.
Third Person Mid:
Sarah Morris has a habit of missing the forest. From the day the Minneapolis-based singer-songwriter picked up a guitar, armed with the bone-deep memory of her parents’ well-loved record collection, she’s been too busy crafting love letters to the details of the trees. Morris’ endearingly honest, expertly penned songs encourage audiences to pull away from the big picture and get caught up in the magic of our everyday minutia—the rainy day ache in her sunlit voice granting us permission to escape into stories at once hauntingly familiar and uniquely her own.
Here’s To You, her 5th album of original material, sees Morris shedding some country swagger in favor of a lusher, more celestial sound. With layers of harmonies and synths orbiting the terra firma of her band’s guitar, bass and drums, Morris’ clarion voice shines brightly. Whether they’re celebration songs, grief songs or gift songs, you feel devotion to her craft in every line. Produced by multi-instrumentalist Dave Mehling, Dave Franklin of The Big Takeover declared Here’s To You ‘.. a triumph. An album of space and restraint, any note played, every word uttered feels perfectly and purposely placed’.
Inclined toward the intimacy of live performance, Morris spends a remarkable amount of time on stage. Whether solo, backed by the country kick of her long-time band The Sometimes Guys or as half of vintage-harmony heavy duo The Home Fires with Vicky Emerson, her playful-hearted presence is both captivating and contagious. In addition to being a 2018 Kerrville New Folk winner, she recently earned third place at the 2023 Songwriter Serenade, as well as being chosen as a finalist for Telluride Troubadour, and taking 2nd place at the 2016 MerleFest Chris Austin Songwriting Competition. Morris has performed at Lincoln Center (New York), Dakota Jazz Club (Minneapolis) and Bugle Boy (La Grange).
Morris is deeply committed to the Twin Cities’ life-giving music community. She hosts an online interview program called, “Hey, I Miss You,” to amplify the work of her peers. Morris is head cheerleader for a local songwriting collective and collaborates with musicians for a Youtube series of under-rehearsed cover songs filmed in her laurel green bathroom. As a writer, lover, mother, and witness, Morris invites us to join her in missing the forest for the trees, with songs that count and celebrate the glorious details of our messy, magical, everyday lives.
Third Person Long:
Sarah Morris has a habit of missing the forest. From the day the Minneapolis based singer-songwriter picked up a guitar, armed with the bone-deep memory of her parents’ well-loved record collection and rooted in the storytelling fire of a Mary Chapin Carpenter tune, she’s been too busy crafting love letters to the details of the trees. Sarah’s endearingly honest, expertly penned songs encourage audiences to pull away from the big picture and get caught up in the magic of our everyday minutia, the rainy day ache in her sunlit voice granting us permission to escape into stories at once hauntingly familiar and uniquely her own.
A graduate of the Lawrence University Conservatory of Music, Sarah spent the first years of her career in Nashville, losing herself in the art of writing timeless Americana melodies. “Sarah Morris [is] a bright, clear, brilliant songwriter,” wrote Jon Hunt of L’Etoile Magazine. “…pure and crisp and perfect.” In the eight years since her 2011 debut album, Lonely or Free, Sarah’s career, like her songs, has been overflowing with delicious details. Her albums Ordinary Things (2015), Hearts in Need of Repair (2017), and All Mine (2020) recorded with band mates Thomas Nordlund, Andrew Foreman, and Lars-Erik Larson with producer Eric Blomquist, earned international airplay and considerable critical acclaim, reaching notable positions on both the Americana Music Association and Euro Americana charts. In 2016, Sarah was a top four finalist in the NewSong Music Contest at Lincoln Center in New York City, 2nd place winner of the Chris Austin Songwriting Competition at MerleFest in Wilkesboro, NC, and an Americana semi-finalist in the International Songwriting Competition. In 2018, she went on to win the Kerrville New Folk Competition, collecting an honorable mention at the Telluride Troubadour contest along the way. More recently, Sarah was named Midwest Country Music Organization’s Songwriter of the Year for the second time.
“Rootsy singer Sarah Morris offers a Norah Jones-like approach to Americana, smoothing overs its rough edges with a butter-velvety voice and an intimate songwriting style.” Chris Riemenschneider, Star Tribune.
Inclined toward the intimacy of live performance, Sarah spends a remarkable amount of time on stage. Whether solo, backed by the country kick of her long-time band The Sometimes Guys (Nordlund, Foreman, and Lars-Erik Larson), as half of vintage-harmony heavy duo The Home Fires with Vicky Emerson, or hosting local and traveling musicians live online from her big green bathroom, her playful-hearted presence is both captivating and contagious. Amidst her steady performance schedule she has opened for greats like JD Souther, Suzy Bogguss, and Teddy Thompson – she’s had plenty of beautiful moments to revel in. And with a brand new album to share in 2023, she’s primed to offer us a few beautiful moments of our own.
Deeply committed to the Twin Cities’ life-giving music community, Morris hosts an online interview program called, “Hey, I Miss You,” to amplify the work of her peers, as well as collaborating with musicians for a Youtube series of under-rehearsed cover songs filmed in her laurel green bathroom. Additionally, Morris is head cheerleader for a local songwriting collective.
As a writer, lover, mother, and witness, Morris invites us to join her in missing the forest for the trees, with songs that count and celebrate the glorious details of our messy, magical, everyday lives.
About Here’s To You:
The Big Takeover’s Dave Franklin declares of Sarah Morris’ new album, ‘It’s a triumph. An album of space and restraint, any note played, every word uttered feels perfectly and purposely placed. The album is a beautiful blend of groove and grace, intimacy and entertainment, fun, and feeling. What more could you ask for?’
Here’s To You, is a generous collection of gift songs. Written to family and friends, these songs are alms for our poor hearts, balms for our tenderest parts. The title track has us eavesdropping on an intimate long-distance call to an old friend. Morris sings, “Everything’s changing / with subtle shifts and also with grand rearranging.” Written for some of the most important women in her life, “You Are” is about reflecting back someone’s magic when they can’t see it themselves. “Come Back” sounds romantic at first blush, but it’s a love song to her teenage son who is learning to leave and return home in ever-widening concentric circles. “Longest Night” waxes nostalgic about an evening with two friends before an accident, an illness and a pandemic change the world forever. “Something That Holds” is a grown-up love song to her husband about the small ways we belong to each other.
Here’s To You sees Morris shedding some country swagger in favor of a lusher, more celestial sound. With layers of harmonies and synths orbiting the terra firma of her band’s guitar, bass and drums, Morris’ clarion voice shines brightly. Whether they’re celebration songs, grief songs or gift songs, you can feel her devotion to her craft in every line. The album was produced by multi-instrumentalist Dave Mehling.
