‘FROM THE HEART WITH EMPATHY’
Amy Ray gets introspective on ‘If it all Goes South’; tour makes stop at Tumbleroot
Amy Ray is busy getting ready for tour. “It takes a lot because I’m always running around,” Ray says. “I try to keep my cool and make sure that everything goes as planned.”
Ray is currently on tour in support of her album, “If It All Goes South,” which is her 10th album with Amy Ray Band.
The tour will make a stop at Tumbleroot Brewery & Distillery in Santa Fe at 7:30 p.m. Monday, Jan. 29.
The album is a timely collection that includes a dazzling lineup of guest musicians including Brandi Carlile, Allison Russell, The Highwomen’s Natalie Hemby, Phil Cook and I’m With Her.
From a song inspired the by the loss of a beloved dog, “Muscadine”, to one honoring civil rights leaders in “Joy Train,” Ray explores her Southern heritage.
“I’m doing my thing and trying to write from the heart with empathy and an understanding of where other people are coming from,” Ray says. “If you’re from the South, there’s a good chance that there is stuff in your background that needs to be repaired. I’m at a point in my life where I’m looking at my life from a spiritual point of view. It’s contemplative stuff.”
The album consists of 10 songs.
Ray had many more songs to choose from.
Some were finished and some were redirected into a new song.
“I was writing a lot,” Ray says. “I could tell the things I was going to be able to finish on the songwriting level. I’m not super prolific in writing a lot and I have a lot of things going on at once. I won’t give up on a song.”
Ray teams up with Russell on “Tear it Down,” which, Ray says, began in a different form.
“In the midst of the Black Lives Matter marches, I was on a panel with Allison about racism,” Ray says. “Hearing her speak, I was talking from the perspective of a white person trying to learn. She was speaking about her own experiences. After hearing her, I wanted her to sing that song. Several of the songs we recorded straight to tape and she inspired me to rework the song and put her voice on it. It was a fantastic change.”
Carlile is featured on the track, “Subway,” on Ray’s album.
Ray says when she was writing the song, she was inspired by Rita Houston, who was a radio DJ at Fordham University’s public radio station WFUV.
“She is a well known mover and a queer woman who helped a lot of people,” Ray says. “I was thinking about the chorus and hearing her contribution to the world. She did more than people realize.”
With 10 albums away from the Indigo Girls catalog, Ray does find it difficult to put together a set list because there is so much material.
“We try to change the set every night,” Ray says. “I will have suggestions. The band will have their suggestions too. Then there are songs the audience asks for. One thing is that I don’t do any Indigo Girls’ songs with this band.”
The Amy Ray Band also achieved a new goal when the band made its debut at the Grand Ole Opry in May 2023.
“It was glorious and I was so nervous,” Ray says. “Those folks put us right at ease. The Opry is making an effort to include more people of color and queer people. They made us feel at home and my band is so good that even when I’m not at my best, they will lift me up because they are so talented.”