Marry Waterson

British singer, songwriter, and artist Marry Waterson has upheld the legacy of her famous folksinging family since first appearing alongside her mother, <a href="spotify:artist:0ZQfWJ9ozZd0UKwBFagTg8">Lal Waterson</a>, and aunt <a href="spotify:artist:4HFBKIBwNoiuovUGQGAu4k">Norma Waterson</a> on their 1977 LP, A True Hearted Girl. Involvement in other family-related projects like the Waterdaughters and <a href="spotify:artist:7ws6eBBS6mxzxPurciXzFo">Waterson:Carthy</a> preceded her own debut, 2011's The Days That Shaped Me, which she made alongside her brother, <a href="spotify:artist:2fHuc0sapZ2Ml4A2ufZqrW">Oliver Knight</a>. Despite possessing a singular voice, Marry has most often used her gift in collaboration with others, releasing a succession of duo albums with sympathetic partners including <a href="spotify:artist:5yUgswt21bvDrvpPaGnELc">David A. Jaycock</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:25uHIpsCWoj8wEHFOEhbuV">Emily Barker</a>. Her haunting 2019 release with the latter, A Window to Other Ways, caught the attention of Irish singer/songwriter <a href="spotify:artist:23lRs7WcUzcKrsbrHL2Z1y">Adrian Crowley</a>, and the two musicians collaborated on 2024's Cuckoo Storm.

Born Maria Knight in Hull, Yorkshire, to <a href="spotify:artist:0ZQfWJ9ozZd0UKwBFagTg8">Lal Waterson</a> and George Knight, she spent a number of years immersed in various <a href="spotify:artist:59w4wGMXlt4HULBSTVxRAY">Waterson</a>-related ensembles, most notably a family singing quartet called the Waterdaughters, which featured both <a href="spotify:artist:0ZQfWJ9ozZd0UKwBFagTg8">Lal</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:4HFBKIBwNoiuovUGQGAu4k">Norma Waterson</a> as well as Marry's cousin <a href="spotify:artist:3ZSRiAJKs42ymp2KYA80Qh">Eliza Carthy</a>. Musically, she largely played the role of either group member or guest performer, appearing on albums by <a href="spotify:artist:53aQwuzlyn4vxxUs6Edlqw">James Yorkston</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:64YVotBSFQoRt2TWCkGFqy">Kathryn Williams</a> until a 2011 venture found her singing alongside her brother, guitarist <a href="spotify:artist:2fHuc0sapZ2Ml4A2ufZqrW">Oliver Knight</a>. On the duo's 2011 debut, The Days That Shaped Me, Marry's earthy, beguiling vocals were featured front and center, with <a href="spotify:artist:2fHuc0sapZ2Ml4A2ufZqrW">Oliver</a> acting as her instrumental collaborator and foil. Mixing folk, rock, and blues, the duo were critically well-received and returned the following year with a second LP, Hidden. Over the next few years, Marry became involved in a number of other projects, including the production of a book celebrating her mother and the curation of a tour revisiting Lal & Mike Waterson's landmark 1972 folk-rock album, Bright Phoebus. By 2015, her brother <a href="spotify:artist:2fHuc0sapZ2Ml4A2ufZqrW">Oliver</a> had taken a hiatus from music, depriving Marry of her primary collaborator. She began a new musical partnership with British guitarist <a href="spotify:artist:5yUgswt21bvDrvpPaGnELc">David A. Jaycock</a> and, working with producers <a href="spotify:artist:3PVNgpgfFzCI2Goay8Wjdk">Neill MacColl</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:2VlEJZNpQjVLsvG2fb9tZY">Kate St. John</a>, recorded her third LP, the haunting Two Wolves, which was released in November of that year, again on the <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22One+Little+Indian%22">One Little Indian</a> label. Her partnership with <a href="spotify:artist:5yUgswt21bvDrvpPaGnELc">Jaycock</a> continued on 2017's Death Had Quicker Wings Than Love, another dark and bracing set, this time produced by <a href="spotify:artist:6jDiXQFNb5UYscCSghzEEA">Adrian Utley</a> (<a href="spotify:artist:6liAMWkVf5LH7YR9yfFy1Y">Portishead</a>).

After this, <a href="spotify:artist:59w4wGMXlt4HULBSTVxRAY">Waterson</a> again changed musical partners, recording 2019's A Window to Other Ways with Australian singer/songwriter <a href="spotify:artist:25uHIpsCWoj8wEHFOEhbuV">Emily Barker</a>. Although it bore some of the stark, noirish feel of her previous records, it was also more of a proper duo effort, with <a href="spotify:artist:25uHIpsCWoj8wEHFOEhbuV">Barker</a> joining in on harmonies and singing lead on a number of tracks. After listening to A Window to Other Ways during the global pandemic, Irish singer/songwriter <a href="spotify:artist:23lRs7WcUzcKrsbrHL2Z1y">Adrian Crowley</a> was inspired to reach out to <a href="spotify:artist:59w4wGMXlt4HULBSTVxRAY">Waterson</a>, and the two agreed to collaborate on a new project. It was a complementary pairing of two poetic souls with distinctive voices and yielded the 2024 album Cuckoo Storm. ~ Timothy Monger, Rovi