Name: Mary Bue
Nationality: American
Occupation: Singer, songwriter
Recent release: Mary Bue's new album The Wildness of Living & Dying is out now.
Recommendation for Minneapolis: In Minneapolis there is a phenomenal restaurant right on the Mississippi river called Owamni ~ the first indigenous restaurant in the country - which is pretty wild and rather sad being that we are ON native land. It’s gorgeous and delicious, James Beard award winning. Highly recommend eating there and following their other projects uplifting indigenous foodways and wisdom. Needed!

If you enjoyed this Mary Bue interview and would like to stay up to date with her music and future live activities, visit her official homepage. She is also on Instagram, and bandcamp.



Many musicians I am talking to at the moment feel somewhat disillusioned about the impact, meaning, and value of their work. Feel free to vent some of your own frustrations and/or disappointments – as well, if possible, something that you recently experienced (or a thought that you had) that might give hope to other creatives.

Thanks for the space space/opportunity to vent!

Recently I’ve been feeling that in this time of the massive barrage/waterfall of information, the dumpster-fire that is the news, and general overstimulation as a human in society (and especially a highly sensitive human), it is hard to celebrate – or even simply rest and recuperate – after working so hard to create something. The indoctrination of capitalist society says to keep pushing, hustling, make more, push push push.

I spent about three years writing and recording this new record, did a crowdfunding campaign, and sooo much self-promotional efforts. The album release show has come and gone, with another big one almost here. And it already feels like this brand new album, just shy of a month old, is already old news. The people have moved on. AND, BUT, I worked sooo hard on it!

Beyond this gripe, it was massively expensive to create, and definitely a labor of love, with a pretty bad ROI in financial terms. HOWEVER. The amount of love put into that project feels satisfying and gratifying to my soul. The amount of support via Kickstarter and beautiful press like this very interview is validating. AND, I think about albums that are deeply beloved and timeless to me, and maybe, just maybe, this could be a beloved and timeless and supportive and inspiring album to someone out there.

And that brings me hope. We never really know. And the return on investment may be more spiritual than financial, and the gifts could be something unexpected, and in this moment I’ll stay in the mystery of that.

If, for a moment, we forget about streaming numbers, target audiences, social media followers, and sales - why are you drawn to sound and music as a creator and listener? What is it that you give and receive through it?

Music has been in my life since in the womb! My mother is a musician, a classical pianist & organist, so practicing the piano while I was in utero definitely seeped in on some level.

I latched on to songs early, and music became an obsession in teenage years. I lived in my headphones during art class in school and saved my allowances to buy hundreds of CDs. Writing songs has been a part of my reality since 15 or 16 years old and I’m in my 40s now.

Putting emotions and poetry into songs expresses the feeling in a way that moves so differently than words on a page. Lyrics flow and deepen and lilt and drift and seep and boom and bang and drop and soften and grow and can help us move through emotions. Sound helps lift me, brings catharsis, carries me across from one moment into another.

Music is therapy for me, and a healing balm, and a motivator. I can only hope that my songs provide a similar support to listeners, as I have created songs from very deep inner spaces, often born of pain and confusion, self-healing of traumas, working through anger and sadness, to get to the other side. Writing songs and listening to them helps to move energy, provide comfort, and resonance … and make me feel less alone.

In how far can music be considered essential for humans?

The simplest answer is YES. Essential!

It graces our ceremonies, religious gatherings, showers love and affection, rocks a baby to sleep, stirs energy, moshes, helps us cry, helps us dance. It's good for memory, for connecting, for community. Ancient songs, dancers and drummers, funeral rites ... the songs of birds and whales. It provides release, relief, and joy.

It would be a very bleak world without music.

Take us through a day in your life, from a possible morning routine to your work, please, and how music and sound accompany you through it.

I’ve recently gone through a breakup and am back to sleeping alone all the time. Prior to this, I had a very beautiful morning practice and, heartbreak aside, I am grateful to get back to it.

Obviously love brushing my teeth, and immediately getting the french press of coffee going. I feel a little funny sharing but since 2020 I’ve been dancing first thing in the morning, as well as lifting free weights during the ecstatic dance routine. I have a few playlists, or whatever song is in my head when I wake up.

After that I do gentle yoga asana to stretch & strengthen my low back and I have a whole meditation routine depending on how much time I have. Grounding, centering, sometimes clearing, then moving into chanting 108 rounds of a mantra around mala beads (a practice called japa).

This morning routine can be extensive and in a dream world I wouldn’t have to leave my house for at least three hours! Ha. This can then morph into writing - I WISH I was writing morning pages (inspired by Julia Cameron’s book The Artist’s Way) all the time … sometimes moving into practicing songs. And if I have even more time I’ll go run a 5k around the city lake by my house, which I used to do in silence however now switch it up with podcasts and playlists.

Music moves through my day in waves, in and out all day long.

What artists, albums, performances, or even aesthetics and philosophies are inspiring to your life in and beyond music right now and in which way?

Just fresh from co-hosting a retreat to India, I’ve been very inspired by Indian artists. Discovered Sid Sriram a number of years ago and his album Sidharth is gorgeous.

I love Anoushka Shankar and of course her father Ravi Shankar. I spent a month in Rishikesh in 2020 studying Nada Yoga ~ the Yoga of Sound ~ and during that training and for years prior have been exploring the healing and profound concentrative qualities of mantra, so I enjoy listening to kirtans & chanting. Recently discovered Sundeep Gosswami and been enjoying the kirtans of Krishna Das. This is the high I’ve been on lately!

Foundationally I love singer songwriters, coming of age in the 90s artists like Tori Amos, Ani DiFranco, Jeff Buckley, Juliana Hatfield, Belly. I love electronic synth bands big time - Metric is my fave and Chvrches also right up there.

[Read our Juliana Hatfield interview]
[Read our Iain Cook of Chvrches interview]

As for philosophies, I’ve been teaching yoga for 15 years and studying it for 20+ years. Yogic teachings far beyond the body, looking at the workings of they mind - quite like depth psychology - as well as very introductory level Sanskrit chanting - this has all been inspiring and especially chanting can help to embody the intention of the mantra with sound vibration. SO COOL.

Tell me about some of the feedback you’ve received from listeners about how your work has impacted them.

I’ve written a few heavy duty songs, about being sexually assaulted in my 20s ("Petty Misdemeanor"), as well as most recently my album revolves around a violent carjacking I experienced in 2020.



I went on tour a couple of times recently with the band Cloud Cult and some of their fans, who I had never met, connected with me and thanked me for singing about trauma, and how much it helped them to not feel so alone. My new song “Bedding Down with the Deer” speaks to how I hope people can hold space for those working through traumatic experiences and hard times, and how healing can’t be rushed.

Many people have said this song is of comfort to them and again, that means the world to me.

What are some of the goals and ambitions you have for your music?

I would love to have songs placed in movies! I hope to figure this out someday soon.

And really, for my songs to find “their people.” It is hard to break out and I put so much love, time, energy into my work and really hope it ripples out to the people who might love it.

What kind of music/art do you feel the world needs right now - does it need “healing,” “shaking up,” “an escape from reality,” “consolation,” “a sense of community,” “holding up a mirror,” something else?

I think all of the above! The United States is in crisis. So many of us are completely overwhelmed. We need music to soothe us, hold up a mirror to injustice, escape from reality in a fun and comforting way like a vacation so that we can get back to the work at hand.

We need music to bring us together … it does, music from all around the world can touch our hearts and build community …

What are some of the non-musical topics and causes you feel strongly about? Do you keep them separate from or try to connect them to your creative work?

I feel strongly about sexual assault and domestic violence prevention and protection for victims. I feel strongly about reproductive choice. I feel strongly about animal rights and protecting the environment.

I have sung about a few of these things … and I trust they will weave in over the future, as well as opportunities to host and/or perform at benefits for these causes.

French Saxophonist Sakina Abdou told me that she “witnessed a powerlessness towards a world that is in absolutely no way in line with my values,” and that she hasn’t yet found a way to overcome this in ways other than music, but I admire the activists around me who do it.” Can you relate to this and what does it say about the role of music in overcoming our sense of powerlessness and actually empowering us?

I can relate SO much to that statement!

As mentioned in the previous question, the causes that I listed (so many more things to care about as well!), when approached with songwriting, when brought into the public sphere, when sung about and bantered about and chatted about after can help strengthen community and bring awareness to the cause. Connection is empowering and songs can help us find our people as well as bring people together.

The emotional component that music can provide can plant a seed in the listener if they are receptive and if they respect the artist. Songs can help us see things in a new way … and that is empowering.

What do you make of the idea that music and sound are a universal language - and how can artists use its specific and universal qualities to bring about change on a global scale?

How would our world be different if we paid less attention to looks and listened more instead?

I had a recent experience where myself and two other women were singing backup for a group that was all middle aged men. When we got on stage, one of the artists said, “now finally, for some eye candy.” I bristled and said, “what now?!!” and caused a little commotion and spoke with the band member afterwards and we talked it out, thankfully they were open to the feedback that it wasn’t super cool.

It is already challenging enough to get out there as a female artist but then to have the pressure of looking good on top of it is exhausting.

In fact, in the title track of my new album The Wildness of Living & Dying I have a lyric “Revere the youth on pedestals / we’re all heading in the same direction” …



I think that YES there are absolutely beautiful youth creating excellent music. I started performing my original songs at 17 (not that I was creating excellent work then, ha!, but it was being received pretty well in my college town and at 19 my first (very raw) album even got reviewed by Low’s Alan Sparhawk in the local rag.

Anyway. I believe that songwriting matures with age. If we persevere, we grow and evolve and our skill sets deepen and our understanding of the world deepens. Hopefully.

If we listen with our eyes closed it doesn’t matter what the musician looks like it. We can feel the song, and its meaning and not be sold on the image. Image can be fun, can be something to play with in branding. The whole “package.” However, what a relief to create meaningful work for the sake of it, and not be a slave to botox or a gym rat or ridiculed for a bad outfit or not booked because we’re middle aged or physically unattractive to the person booking the club.

We are all heading in the same direction. Have some compassion. And the creative work is the point, not the sexiness of the package. Such a deep issue and so problematic.