Tell us a bit about your new album: Here’s To You.

Hi!  Oh, I’m so excited to finally be sharing ‘Here’s To You’ with the world (or at least, anyone who wants to hear it!).  It’s 9 songs that I’ve written over the last few years that each felt like a bit of an intimate conversation with another person.  There are songs for celebrating, songs for grieving, songs for endings, songs for beginnings, songs for the messy middle. The album was produced by Dave Mehling, and features the stellar work of my long time band-mates –  Thomas Nordlund, Andrew Foreman, Lars-Erik Larson.

What was your creative process/concept with this new album?

I am a superfan of producer Dave Mehling‘s 2021 album, Beach Boy.  I appreciated the way he used space, and sound to tell a story.  Dave can play just about anything, and knows his way around a synthesizer, so on his album I heard some really playful and creative sounds, but was impressed that they never detracted from the story of the song. I would say that going in to record this album, that was a bit of a North Star.  I wanted to play around with space and sound and texture, while staying rooted to the story of each song. 

Process wise, we began with a 3-day band session at Salon Sonics in St. Paul.  The band tracked in one room, and I recorded vocals and some guitar in the control room.  We were able to lay the foundation for 6 of the tracks in that session, as well as grab final vocals for a couple of the songs.  Then there were a series of sessions where I went to Dave’s home studio and recorded layers of vocal parts/harmonies/oohs – it was so much fun.

What did you learn about yourself when writing and creating your new album?

I think some of the biggest takeaways throughout making ‘Here’s To You’ is just how much I am still (after all these years) just wildly in love with the act of singing.  And also, that singing, for me, has become in recent years a more delicate thing.  A more intentional thing perhaps than it was when I was younger.  I’ve grown more comfortable with choosing takes or performances based on how they ‘felt’ versus how they ‘sound’

What single is your favorite track off your new album and why?

That changes by the day!  One of my favorite tracks is “The Longest Night” – it was the last bit of vocal layering we worked on in the studio, and I kept hearing these kind of expansive AHHHHH moments that reminded me a little of The Carpenters (AHHH!! My favorite!).   Also, it is the kind of song that I wish I wrote more of in that the chorus is fairly lyrically simple, and short.  I have a wordiness problem sometimes 🙂

I see you recently hosted Midwest Country Music Awards. Tell us a bit about that.

It was SO MUCH FUN!  The Midwest Country Music Organization really strives to bring artists together in community, to bring fans into community, and the whole event had this big sense of joy and support.  I was able to co-host with Monica Austin, a fantastic artist out of Iowa.  We’d never met in person before that day but GOOD HEAVENS she is the coolest.  I’m really grateful for the chance to have hosted that event!

What is next for Sarah Morris? Any big plans?