Tonight: Courtney Marie Andrews at Small Stages

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“Right when you have it all figured out, life comes to throw you another doubt.  But my head’s up high, and I ain’t got nothing but time to work at living an honest life.” Coming from the title track of her latest record, Courtney Marie Andrews sings about her deeply personal and eye opening life spent seeing the world and playing music.  It was through the lens of the eclectic world she experienced that Courtney has conceived her genuine and beautiful lyrics that deal with living life in the purest manner possible. With comforting guitar-led melodies paired with her delicate, unbelievably inviting voice, Courtney Marie Andrews is an artist relatable by all; she sings about experiences we’ve all been through, emotions we’ve all felt, and does so in the most personable, welcoming way it is easy to imagine that she wrote her songs just for you.

Through years of traveling alongside countless bands and artists including Jimmy Eat World as a backup singer and guitarist, Andrews has never stopped writing her own material that reflects her outlook on life. From the moment she began touring at age 16, Andrews has been cultivating ideas and culture that have amassed into her own beautifully unique indie folk sound.  As Andrews is no stranger to touring, her travels will bring her to Birmingham on Saturday, November 19, as part of the nonprofit Small Stages 2016 music series, a show that almost never was.

Though Small Stages had already closed out their 2016 music series, after hearing Andrews soothing Joni Mitchell-esque vocals and diligently genuine lyrics, an exception had to be made.  It was Travis Morgan of Secret Stages Music Discovery Festival who originally heard Andrews and knew without a doubt Birmingham needed to experience her charm.  He says, “I was interested in bringing Courtney Marie Andrews to town for Secret Stages in 2017, but that is 9 months away.  I reached back out to her booking agent, Stacy Lee at Perfect Pitch Booking, telling her how much I was loving Courtney’s music.  I took to her music immediately which is quite rare for me.  Her agent said Courtney was touring through the Southeast and could use a Birmingham show. I hit the ground running trying to find a show for her. I reached out to David Bernard at Small Stages and asked if they might want to host the show. He told me they had closed the season and that it probably wouldn’t be possible. I received an email from David two days later saying he wanted to do it and the show came together really quickly.”

From there David Bernard remarks on his perspective on Andrews and booking her, saying, “Travis contacted us on short notice saying that she was coming through [in November], and wanted to know if we could host her. I immediately said no to myself because we’d closed out for the season and it was a busy time… but then we listened to her. Immediately we said ‘oh my goodness- she’s amazing and a rare talent,’ and we just had to try to put it together.  We don’t normally book on football game day Saturday nights, but with her being in Birmingham on that night we had to make something happen.  So, we had a venue that offered (themselves to us), and we had not gotten around to checking it out, but we needed a spot for November 19, and it ended up working out.”

Considering the special arrangements made for this special artists, Courtney Marie Andrews’s intimate set at Small Stages this Saturday will be an unmissable one. Andrew’s personal ambience embodies the essence of Small Stages’ purpose beautifully. Few artists deserve the intimate, personal attention that Small Stages offers more than Courtney Marie Andrews. Her graceful voice and profoundly inspiring lyrics were meant to be experienced in a private, quaint setting, and this is the exact justice that Small Stages will give Courtney Marie Andrews this Saturday night at 7:30 p.m.

RSVP at info@smallstages.com for show details.

Photo by Susy Sundborg.

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