Spotlight On: MARY LATTIMORE
ABOUT this week’s podcast guest + radio hour featured interview:
There were lots of reasons I was excited to have this week’s guest on the show. First, I'm a big fan of hers - both for her own work and her collaborations with some of my favorite artists. Second, I love an opportunity to chat with an artist who has had her hands in a multitude of genres, including classical, experimental, psych folk, indie rock, and what some may classify as new age. And, it’s exciting to talk music with someone whose main instrument is the harp, which is a change of pace from the more common guitar, piano, and bass players I usually chat with. if you aren’t familiar with Mary Lattimore’s solo work, chances are you have heard her amazing playing on recordings by the likes of Thurston Moore, Sharon Van Etten, Weyes Blood, Soccer Mommy, Kurt Vile, and way too many more to list here. The daughter of a working classical harpist, and raised in Asheville, North Carolina, the composer, harpist, and multi-instrumentalist was classically trained on the harp from age 11, but following graduation from the Eastman School of Music, Mary Lattimore moved to Philadelphia and dove into the underground and indie music scene there. Over the years she has become known as an innovator, and ethereal improvisor, who often uses electronic effects to expand her sound. An in-demand session player, and collaborator, Mary Lattimore has put out five solo albums. Her first was released as a self-titled cassette in 2012, then re-issued the following year as The Withdrawing Room. At the Dam followed in 2016, Hundreds of Days in 2018, and then her critically acclaimed fourth album, Silver Ladders in 2020. A few months ago Mary Lattimore returned with her fifth solo effort, the gorgeous Goodbye, Hotel Arkada. She joins us as this week’s SHERO in the Spotlight.
A condensed version of this interview is featured on the SHEROES Radio hour this week. Here’s what else you’ll hear:
New music from:
Waxahatchee
SHERO Birthdays:
Dolly Parton 1/19
Janis Joplin 1/19
Cat Power 1/21
Angel Olsen 1/22
Alicia Keys 1/25
Etta James 1/25
Listen to the syndicated public radio SHEROES Radio hour, below: