2020-10-12

Mary Flower

Mary Flower (Portland, Oregon)

An internationally known and award-winning picker, singer/songwriter, and teacher, the Midwest native relocated from Denver to the vibrant Portland, Oregon, music scene in 2004. She continues to please crowds and critics at folk festivals, teaching seminars and concert stages domestically and abroad, that include Merlefest, Kerrville, King Biscuit, Prairie Home Companion, and the Vancouver Folk Festival, among many. A finalist in 2000 and 2002 at the National Finger Picking Guitar Championship; a nominee in 2008, 2012, and 2016 for a Blues Foundation Blues Music Award; and many times a Cascade Blues Assn. Muddy Award winner, Flower embodies a luscious and lusty mix of rootsy, acoustic blues guitar and vocal styles that span a number of idioms – from Piedmont to the Mississippi Delta, with stops in ragtime, swing, folk and hot jazz. Flower’s twelve recordings, including her four for Memphis’ famed Yellow Dog Records—Bywater Dance, Instrumental Breakdown, Bridges and Misery Loves Company—show a deep command of and love for folk and blues string music. For Flower, it’s never about re-creation. Her dedication to the art form is a vital contribution to America’s music.

Interviewed by Raquel Paraíso, 10/12/2020.

Raquel Paraíso

Music; United States; Covid-19 Pandemic

Portland, Oregon

Musicians in America during the Covid-19 Pandemic

Society for Ethnomusicology