Rosanne Cash to appear at Mayo PAC tonight
In the past, singer-songwriter Rosanne Cash has frequently written lyrics in the first person – so much so that some people assume that the "I is really her and hence those songs must be deeply personal.
On her 2014 album, "The River and the Thread," however, the majority of the tracks are third-person narratives. By that logic, she must be only a raconteur and thus has nothing personal invested in those songs.
The truth, as always, is a lot more complex than that, Cash says. "Yes, some of my first-person songs are from my experience. But lyrics are poetry, and poetry takes licenses."
In the same way, "The River and the Thread" may deal with a plethora of characters. "But I feel woven into all those songs," she says. "They're as personal as anything else I've written."
The 11 tracks of "The River and the Thread" will make up the first part of Cash's concert when she and her band play the Mayo Performing Arts Center tonight.
The second half of the show will be culled from her rich career, which dates back to 1979. "I've been falling in love with some of those songs again," she says, citing "Blue Moon with Heartache" as one song she has rediscovered.
The story of how Cash and her husband, producer John Leventhal, came to create "The River and the Thread" makes an interesting story on its own.
Cash was approached by Arkansas State University for her help in restoring the childhood home of her father, the late Johnny Cash, in Dyess County, Arkansas.
"While I was there, I started reconnecting with people I had known but hadn't seen for a long time," says Rosanne Cash, who was born in Memphis in 1955, when her father was recording some of his earliest songs for Sun Studios.
Cash also began seeking out other acquaintances, including a friend in Alabama who taught her how to sew. "At one point she said, 'You have to love the thread,' and that sent a chill through me," Cash says.
With her interest in the South reawakened, Cash and Leventhal began crafting a series of songs that dealt with different aspects of the region across the decades, from the Civil War to the New Deal to the present.
"The River and the Thread" marks Cash's first album since the 2009 collection, "The List." The songs on that CD were drawn from her father's personal choices of the 100 greatest country songs of all time.
"The List" was enough of a seller that Cash admits that she felt some pressure to record "The List, Part II." "But I resisted that, and my record company (Blue Note Records) completely understood."
"The River and the Thread" has more than succeeded on its own. It has garnered some of the best reviews of her already-lauded career and was nominated for three Grammy Awards.
Cash says that at some point she may still revisit "The List," but she has more than enough new work to keep her occupy. She recently was asked to curate a series of four concerts at Carnegie Hall for the 2015-2016 season.
"I was given complete freedom to choose what I wanted," says Cash. "This is the most prestigious venue in the entire country, and it's so exciting." The concerts – one of which will be her own –will all deal with Americana and roots music.
Cash also says that she wants to start writing more songs soon. Although her previous CD of new material was in 2006, she has not been idle; she often writes essays for various publications, and she published a memoir called "Composed" in 2010.
Cash, who will turn 60 in May, says the Carnegie Hall project and the prospect of more writing recording have energized her. "I really feel younger now than I did when I was 30," she says. "I love my home. I love my life. I feel really fortunate."
ROSANNE CASH
WHAT: Cash and her band perform all 11 tracks from her acclaimed 2014 album "The River and the Thread," a series of songs rooted in the American South. Cash will also perform a selection of material from her long career as a singer-songwriter in the country, folk, and rock tradition.
WHEN: 8 tonight
WHERE: Mayo Performing Arts Center, 100 South St., Morristown
TICKETS: $39 to $69