MEGHAN CARY – AN ARTIST SPOTLIGHT AND INTERVIEW
Photos Camie Brody Photography
By Ralph Beauchamp
Meghan Cary is a wonderful singer/songwriter based out of the Northeast. Her debut album, Sing Louder, earned Cary Billboard Magazine’s esteemed Critic’s Choice Award. Her music invokes an organic joyful passion in her listeners. She showcases songs that inspire healing and unity. Meghan Cary‘s latest single is “Raise Your Voice”. The tune is an anthem that focuses on harmony, peace and fellowship. Qualities that are definitely needed in today’s troubled society.
Meghan Cary‘s sound is rooted in Americana and folk-rock traditions. She blends acoustic warmth with dynamic energy that feels both communal and intimate. At its core, her music employs earnest acoustic guitar work with soulful vocals in order to create a spiritual ambiance. Cary‘s voice conveys a subtle emotional depth and a soft tone that easily captures her listeners hearts.
What sets Meghan Cary apart is her exquisite storytelling and lyrical vulnerability. Her songs frequently explore themes of resilience, connection and mutual human experiences. It has shaped her personal journey into music. In fact, it was due to a profound loss that Meghan Cary found her musical path. After the unexpected death of her fiancé, she picked up his guitar and learned to play. Much of her music is both reflective and elemental.
Cary‘s sound also embraces compelling contrasts. She moves effortlessly from quiet, folk-inflected balladry to brazen, rhythmically engaging tracks. Her music highlights her capacity to balance vulnerability with strength – heartfelt introspection with demanding drive. Her music feel like an invitation to community, empathy and shared expression. Meghan Cary is truly authentic and real.
Meghan Cary will be performing live this Saturday 1/10 with Peter Farrell at Cantean Coffee and Tea 1660 Whitney Avenue Hamden, CT. Also on the bill is Rachael Sage.
Meghan Cary was kind enough to sit with AMP for this interview.
AMP: When did you first realize that songwriting was something you wanted to pursue seriously?
MEGHAN: That’s such an interesting question—not something I really pinpointed before. I started writing songs after my fiancé unexpectedly passed away. Matthew brought music into my life. He was a great flatpicker, played in bars, and knew all the songs you love to wave a pint to—or cry into your whiskey over. Early on, he invited me to join him. He’d play and sing, and I’d sit beside him on a three-legged stool, adding harmony on the choruses. I loved it.
When Matti died, I lost everything—my best friend, my partner, my imagined future. So, I clung to the one thing he had left me: music. I picked up his old Martin guitar and started trying to play it. I knew a few chords—G, D, probably Em (which, honestly, is enough to play just about any song Neil Young ever wrote – LOL). So, I made up the rest. I put my fingers on the strings and strummed, searching for sounds that soothed me, that felt like the songs I remembered Matti singing.
I didn’t know many songs all the way through—just those harmonies on the chorus—so I started making them up. At the time, I had no intention of sharing them and certainly didn’t think of myself as a “songwriter.” I was writing to survive, to move through grief.
But as John Lennon said, “Life is what happens while you’re busy making other plans.” Eventually, I found myself onstage singing those songs, in the studio recording them, and then on the road touring with them. My solo play “On the Way to the Waterfall” tells the story of that journey from three-legged stool to music hall stages. I love performing and connecting with people from the stage, so I kept writing songs so I’d have something to sing.
The subject matter evolved, of course—from loss, to misguided relationships, to life on the road, to second chances. In many ways, it’s a chronicle of my life. But when did I decide to “pursue” songwriting seriously? Maybe I never did. Maybe it’s been pursuing me.
AMP: Can you walk us through your songwriting process from idea to final recording?
MEGHAN: To put it bluntly: no. Songs rarely begin in the same place for me. One might arrive as a phrase that keeps time with walking the dog or doing the dishes. Another sneaks in on a melody and takes root as an earworm I can’t shake. And sometimes it feels more like giving birth—long, painful, and involving a fair amount of swearing.
The one constant is that almost every song truly finds itself when it plays with an audience. I perform songs live for a long time before recording them because they evolve. They’re shaped and honed through a continuous cycle of connection—from me to the listener and back again. If you could see my hands right now, you’d see me making a circular motion, like a rock tumbler—that’s what it feels like. The songs get smoothed and refined by the act of being listened to.
A great example of that is my song “Sing Louder.” I played it live for a long time before ever taking it into the studio. The more I played it, the more people started singing along, and it became clear that the song wanted a chorus of voices. So when it came time to record, I invited forty friends and fans into the studio. They stepped up to the mics—many of them well outside their comfort zones—and sang their hearts out. Their voices made the record.
My duo partner—and life partner—Peter (keys, guitar, mandolin, vocals) is another crucial part of that refining process. He’s all about exploration and discovery, and his parts evolve over time alongside the songs. Listening back to some earlier recordings, I can hear when I captured a song before it was fully baked. Now I try to wait until the song has truly revealed itself—through the audience, through collaboration—before committing it to tape.
AMP: Are there certain themes or emotions you find yourself returning to in your music?
MEGHAN: I tend to write from my own life. I started songwriting as a way to process grief, so my earliest songs revolved around love, loss, and letting go. That eventually morphed into a fairly intense “love gone wrong” phase—which, not coincidentally, is when a few Nashville publishing houses suddenly found me very interesting.
Then I met Peter—my second chance at love and the father of our two kids—and my Nashville prospects promptly vanished. I was, it turns out, far too happy to be trusted with a truly devastating country song. I still write about love, but now from a different perspective. These days my songs tend to explore family, motherhood, life choices, and the power of community and connection.
If I had to name the most prevalent emotion in my music right now, it would be joy—though every so often I still feel compelled to write a devastating “love gone wrong” song. They’re just too much fun to give up entirely.
AMP: What inspires you outside of music (books, experiences, conversations, etc.)?
MEGHAN: I’m often most inspired by conversation, and by listening to other people’s stories. I work with the Carnegie Hall Lullaby Project, helping parents in disadvantaged situations write songs for their young children as a way to bond and to work through their own challenges. We use different tools to help coax the songs out, but what consistently feels most powerful is simply taking the time for a real, human conversation.
We talk about small moments and everyday details, and I keep asking, “What else about that?” Eventually you can almost see the lightbulb go on, when they realize what they truly want to express: what they love most about their child, what they’re afraid of, or what they hope for their future. Being part of that process—helping those songs come into the world—is an honor.
I also find inspiration in much more mundane places: silly signs, overheard phrases, tabloid headlines. There’s a song in just about every situation if you squint your eyes just right.
AMP: Which artists or genres have had the biggest influence on your sound?
MEGHAN: I was the youngest in my family, so I grew up steeped in my older brothers’ record collections—Neil Young, CSNY, Elton John, Jackson Browne, and a lot of Southern rock. When I started writing my own songs, I was deeply influenced by artists like the Indigo Girls, Shawn Colvin, Lucinda Williams, and Melissa Etheridge. I’m drawn to great songwriting, emotional delivery, and mostly organic-sounding production, which is probably why Brandi Carlile still gets the most play on my Spotify. Oh, and Taylor Swift is up there too – huge admiration for her writing.
These days, my musical world is also shaped by my kids. Our son Quinn is a fantastic drummer—he started performing with us last year—and he’s really into Green Day, Rush, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and other great bands. Our daughter, Clara, is a singer, multi-instrumentalist and emerging songwriter/producer influenced by artists like Olivia Rodrigo and Billie Eilish. (You can hear their influence on her debut release, “If I Could”.) It’s been a joy to watch their musical voices take shape, and to let some of that energy and curiosity feed back into my own work.
AMP: How do you balance staying true to yourself while also evolving as an artist?
MEGHAN: Do I? Just kidding. Early on, I promised myself I would always write for myself—just like I did in the beginning. The interesting thing is, when I write from my own truth, form my own healing and emotional well-being, the songs tend to resonate more deeply with listeners than when I try to write something I think everyone will “like”.
For me, staying true and evolving aren’t opposites. Growth comes from going deeper, not wider. Whenever I feel lost or uninspired, I remind myself to tap back into my own story—that’s where the songs that matter most always seem to live.
AMP: What does performing live mean to you?
MEGHAN: Everything. First and foremost, I write music to perform it. I love connecting with audiences through melody, rhythm, and story. The stage is where my songs fully come alive—and it’s my happy place.
AMP: How do you hope your listeners feel when they hear your music?
MEGHAN: Seen and heard. I want listeners to recognize themselves and their own stories in my songs, and to feel comforted knowing they’re not alone. I hope they experience the joy and power of sharing an emotional moment with other humans, and leave feeling both inspired and empowered. That’s why I do this.
AMP: What has been the most challenging part of your journey as a singer/songwriter?
MEGHAN: Imposter syndrome—without a doubt. I’ve been writing songs for over two decades. I teach songwriting, coach performance, and even help non-musicians write songs for their children. And yet, I still half-expect the music police to pull me over and cite me for songwriting without a license…or a degree…or even a certificate.
Nothing shuts down creativity faster than self-doubt. When my inner critic shows up, I try to kindly ask her to step aside while I take a spin around the room with my muse. Most days it works. On the days it doesn’t, I leave her to her tantrum and busy myself doing the laundry, walking the dog…eventually she wears herself out.
AMP: Are there any new sounds or ideas you’re interested in exploring next?
MEGHAN: I have a musical quietly brewing in the back of my mind—some of it has already made its way onto the page and into a few early songs. I’d love to make space this year to focus more deeply on that, along with my work as a keynote speaker. I’m also committed to recording this year – I’ve got a batch of songs I’ve been working through with my audience, and they’re ready for the kiln.
On the writing side of things, I’ve started experimenting with open guitar tunings (I know—very late to the game), and I’ve begun writing on the piano…which I don’t actually know how to play. But then again, I didn’t know how to play the guitar when I wrote my first song either, so it feels like a fine place to begin.
Meghan Cary will be performing live this Saturday 1/10 with Peter Farrell at Cantean Coffee and Tea 1660 Whitney Avenue Hamden, CT. Also on the bill is Rachael Sage. There is a low ticket alert.
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