If you’re of a certain age, you remember waking up in the morning and watching music videos before school. For some, it was MTV, for others VH1, but for Charlie Marie, it was CMT – Country Music Television. “I started out going to vocal lessons and was introduced to classic country,” Marie recalls. “Then I started listening to the radio and I just wanted to be the people on the radio, like the people on CMT.” At the time, one star stuck out above the rest. “Taylor Swift sang songs that I could relate to, that’s why I liked her.”
Armed with a powerful voice of her own and newly found guitar skills, Charlie Marie began writing her own songs in her late teenage years. “After learning the guitar and seeing Taylor Swift, that she was writing songs, I figured I should start writing songs too. And honestly, writing songs is one of my favorite things about music now.” Marie likens the songwriting process to a spiritual experience. “I don’t really know what happens. It’s like I just kind of go somewhere else.”
A number of Charlie Marie’s newer songs come from another spiritual journey. “I went on a journey around the country in my Toyota Yaris,” Charlie shared. “Along my journey, I ended up in Mount Shasta [California] for a little while, which was very interesting. And I met this lady named Keleena. And ever since I’ve met her, I’ve never been the same.” The experience was so inspiring that “Keleena” ended up as a song title. “I went on a retreat, and at the end of it, I gave her a hug and I felt unconditional love from her. And I’ve never felt that from really anyone before. Even from myself, I’ve never felt that. And then after having that experience, I felt my heart open up.”
Upon returning from her cross-country journey, Charlie Marie is back in Rhode Island with fresh inspiration for new material. “I came home and there were a lot of relationships that I had to let go of because I realized they were kind of not working for me anymore, for both of us.” Instead of focusing on the pain, Marie takes a more positive approach to what she identifies as a natural part of growth. “Instead of getting hung up on the goodbye, you can say goodbye, but in a way that honors that other person’s light.”
You can check out all of the songs from Charlie Marie’s Ocean State Sessions set on her upcoming album, “Signs.”
