In Conversation: Margo Price
If ever a star went from zero to hero, it’s Margo Price. Her memoir Maybe We’ll Make It – published last October – details the 13 years of struggle that followed her decision to drop out of school and move to Nashville in the hopes of becoming a musician. It’s a riveting, often shocking read: Price survived alcohol addiction, homelessness and the death of her newborn son, who was born with hypoplastic left heart syndrome.
She eventually distilled these experiences into a brilliant debut album, ‘Midwest Farmer’s Daughter’, but even that record took a year to see the light of day. Labels wouldn’t touch it. (One gave the excuse that “we already have two girls on our label and we just can’t sign any more.”) It was finally picked up by Jack White’s Third Man Records, and went on to become one of the most acclaimed releases of 2016 – thanks not only to its down-to-earth country sound, but also to its emotive, highly personal lyrics.
Price has continued to refine and develop her sound. Her third album, ‘That’s How Rumors Get Started’, leaned into classic rock and Americana, and ‘Strays’ – released this week – dabbles in everything from upbeat pop to psychedelia. We chatted to Margo from her family home outside Nashville, to get her thoughts on making music, prejudice in the industry, and two years alcohol-free.
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Let’s start by talking about your new album. There’s a lot of new sounds on there: there’s country, there’s psychedelic rock, there’s pop. What was it like bringing those different sounds together?
I’ve been experimenting with different genres and styles for as long as I’ve been making music – but of course, people just kind of “found” me after I made ‘Midwest Farmer’s Daughter’. So I feel like I’m “bringing it all back home”, as Bob Dylan said!
In the past you’ve sung with Willie Nelson, you’ve sung with Emmylou Harris – what was it like working with Sharon Van Etten and Lucius?
I’ve been a fan of both Sharon and Lucius for a long time, so it was incredible that they were willing to collaborate with a “country artist”. It’s incredible to be able to spread your wings and not get stuck doing the same boring thing, you know? I see a lot of artists just making the same records over and over, and I didn’t want to fall prey to that.
Do you think that’s a problem in country more than in other genres? The difficulty of breaking out of your genre?
Well, even Dolly Parton did disco music – but I think it is maybe more difficult. I think country fans get in those patterns of thought where they’re like, “Don’t ever change! Be country forever!” But I know that I have fans that are very open-minded, because so many of them came from Third Man Records. Jack [White] is one of those artists that started playing rock music, and then he did a record with Loretta Lynn, and nobody batted an eye.
That’s interesting – and I remember a bit in your memoir when you’re talking about people asking you to “be more country”, and how frustrating you found it. Do you still find that there’s pressure on you to be more country, or do you now have all the freedom you need?
Freedom is a funny word. Obviously I’m always going to sing country music, because I’ve written songs like that, so when you come to my show you’re going to hear some songs that are country. But I’ll always follow my heart, even if it’s difficult. You just have to pick your battles. I’ll continue to be the version of myself that I want to be at the time.
I like that. I do get a sense on the new album there’s a kind of freedom breaking out in you. I was really drawn to the change in the way you’re using your voice: on the first track, “Been to the Mountain”, there’s a kind of feral shouting. Were you drawing that energy from a particular place?
I was definitely very inspired by Lou Reed and Patti Smith on that one! I feel this newfound sense of freedom in my life over the past couple of years. I’m just unafraid of being really vulnerable, and talking about what I’ve struggled with: with alcohol, with drug addiction, in my marriage, in my life. And as I’m growing and ageing, I’m learning how to get my voice exactly how I want it.
During the recording of ‘Strays’, I just really lost myself in the studio. I put more time into recording this album than I ever have. Jonathan Wilson was just such a joy to work with, and really made me feel confident about what I was doing. And he never once questioned the direction of the songs. He was always just inspiring energy.
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How long did it take to make the album – the whole process?
Well, we started writing the songs after a giant mushroom trip in 2020 – and the album is finally going to be out in 2023! I actually ended up recording enough for a double album, but ultimately I decided that I don’t think people have the attention span for double albums these days. Hopefully I’ll get to share all the rest of the tracks that we recorded and wrote, because there were some other songs that were really important – just what I was going through personally, and the band and I growing and developing as a whole.
You’ve got a deluxe edition in the bag there! There’s so much politics in your songwriting, but there’s also so much personal reflection – how do you blend those two?
There’s definitely been times in my life where my writing was a bit more politically charged, and I wanted to push some buttons. But it just seeps in where it’s needed. I think usually someone’s politics are a reflection of their passion – it’s pretty unavoidable these days with the political climate in America.
I also feel that this album has been a little bit more of an outward lens. My song ‘Lydia’ has shades of me in there, but it’s a character study, and it’s one of the first times that I was able to capture somebody else that I saw and really paint a picture. And I wrote that song long before Roe v. Wade was overturned. But living in a red state, having a young daughter, being the feminist that I am, it felt timely.
I actually wanted to talk a bit about those themes, because in your memoir there are a few episodes where you have to put up with very obvious sexism. What do you think the rate of change is in the music industry when it comes to sexism?
I don’t know – we would have to get a bullshit reader out! I think it’s obviously still there, because men are typically allowed to say and do and think whatever they want. A woman with an opinion can be a very polarising thing.
These things are so deeply ingrained in the human psyche, so when you say, “Is it changing in the music industry?” I would say, “Is it changing in society in general?” And as we see things returning to this archaic, 1950s mindset, I would say: “No, it’s not.” You look at many of these country music establishments – the kind of women they award and champion – and it’s the women who keep their mouth shut, and just sit there and look pretty. And I am neither of those things. It’s definitely got me blacklisted and put me on the naughty list – but I don’t care! I’ve always been on that list, and I feel comfortable there.
Do you think it’s ever going to change?
Yeah! I think all these people with this dinosaur mentality are gonna die, and the young people are gonna live and they’re gonna unfuck the world. That’s my hope!
It’s hard, though, isn’t it? Things have felt depressing – do you struggle with staying optimistic?
I do. The election almost killed me, not knowing if it was going to be Biden or Trump again, and I was still drinking at that point. But I do feel optimistic – I think that we just have to keep pushing. One of my New Year’s resolutions was trying to rededicate part of my life to activism, and bringing about solutions in climate change. Being on the board of Farm Aid alongside Willie Nelson and Neil Young – I think that they were really ahead of their time with building that organisation.
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Your music is really good at capturing a sense of place, and travelling comes up a lot in your memoir. What’s the relationship between the places you’ve lived and your music?
Well, I’ve been in the South for almost two decades now, and I was raised in the Midwest. I’ve had the luxury of travelling to so many places, and being able to meet so many people. But home to me is not a place, it’s a feeling: it’s about being near my children, and my husband, Jeremy.
Being in Nashville with all this incredible music history – that’s been incredibly inspiring, and as much as I have problems with Nashville, I love it equally. I’ve met so many good people here, and I think I’ll always have some kind of footing in this city. I think there’s a big piece of me that’s always wanted to be in the West, and I’ve been looking at some homes in California. But I’ll keep my place here, because my band’s here. I’ll take the good with the bad.
What are your biggest issues with Nashville?
We’re gonna need more time! I think a lot of these old guards that run the radio and a lot of these awards organisations – they try to own country music, like it’s something they can just piss on and it’s theirs. You’ve got people like Jason Aldean and John Rich, and you’ve got tonnes of these men who just sing about their trucks and objectifying women. It’s very skewed, it’s very white, it’s very male. It’s a reflection of the South in general.
But I think there’s been a huge sea change of other artists coming to the city and getting incredible recognition. My friend Brittany Howard lives in this town, you’ve got Allison Russell, you’ve got Caitlin Rose – you’ve got so many people who are doing something different, and it’s finally getting its due day. I think the Americana Music Association has been a big part of that. I’m really grateful to them, and how they’ve tried to change the landscape and invite more people in.
I did want to ask about alcohol, if you were able to talk about that.
Well, in two days it’s actually going to be two years alcohol-free. I’m not sober: I’m still dabbling in weed, and mushrooms, and MDMA, and what have you. But it all feels a lot healthier – in my brain and in my body. It’s been the most rebellious thing I’ve ever done. The whole time I was drinking, I thought that that was the way to be a fucking rock star, and it turns out that everybody drinks, so it doesn’t make you special or tough.
But I still party! We just had a New Year’s Eve party at the house. I bought champagne for everybody, but I got some non-alcoholic champagne, and I just sat outside by the fire and smoked some weed and talked to everybody, and ended up staying up till four in the morning anyway – so it’s just the same old me. I’m maybe even a little more out there now. I think for a long time I was afraid of being different, being judged, being weird. But I am different and I am weird, so it’s good. It fits.
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‘Strays’ will be released on January 13th. Margo’s memoir Maybe We’ll Make It is out now through University of Texas Press.
Words: Tom Kinglsey
Photo Credit: Alysse Gafkjen