On March 9th, Margo Price was performing at the To Nashville, With Love benefit concert, raising funds for a city shell-shocked by a deadly and devastating tornado. A little more than a day later, she was quarantining at home with her husband Jeremy Ivey and two children (including 11-month Ramona Lynn), sheltering in place as the coronavirus pandemic swept across Tennessee and the nation. With her new album That’s How Rumors Get Started delayed until the summer because of the crisis, Price has been finding ways to stay creative at home. We asked her for details in an email interview.
What are you doing with your unexpected time at home?
Raising babies, painting, reading, drinking an entire pot of coffee a day, gardening, running, hiking, walking, thinking, worrying, praying, hoping, and singing in the shower.
What music do you turn to in times of crisis for solace and comfort, and why?
I’ve been listening to Bob Dylan’s “Murder Most Foul” on repeat. I’m really grateful he put that song out, it’s got a cathartic quality to it. I’ve also been listening to a lot of Leonard Cohen, Sandy Denny, Lucinda Williams, John Lennon, and Joan Baez.
What do you hope we all take away from this chapter?
I hope humans start to take care of the earth. We are only visitors here. The earth does not belong to us. We belong to the earth and we’ve been fucking it up since day one. I also hope everyone can learn to be grateful for real life and learn to live in the moment. We’ve all be spending so much time on our phones and the irony of that is now it’s become one of our only windows to the outside world.
Anything else you want to say to your fans right now?
I can’t wait to sing for you all again. I miss performing so much — I feel like a huge piece of my heart is missing. Be well, wash your hands, stay home, and stay sane. I love you.
