Maggie Rose Reveals How She Redefined Her Country Music Career and Embraced Her True Artistic Identity-Music History

 

Join Host Buzz Knight for this special Top 5 of 2025 replay episode of Takin’ a Walk - Music History on Foot with the amazing singer-songwriter Maggie Rose.

Maggie is a Grammy-nominated artist who is on an amazing music journey with a new EP called Cocoon, which includes a standout collaboration with Grace Potter titled “Poison in My Well.” 

This Maggie Rose interview podcast will take you behind the scenes of the creative process with an artist whose range and versatility have earned her a devoted following. Listeners will get an inside look at the inspiration behind her latest project, the evolution of her songwriting over the years, and the personal stories that fuel her music. 

Maggie Rose is one of today's great inspiring artists who continues to expand her sound, spanning genres ranging beyond Country Music while touring nationwide, performing at venues where audiences experience her dynamic voice and powerful presence up close. This episode offers a deeper appreciation for an artist who is not only shaping her own path but also contributing vibrant new moments to modern music history. 

If this episode of Takin’ a Walk – Music History on Foot struck a chord with you, we invite you to keep the journey going by exploring the many other stories, conversations and musical pathways waiting in our episode library. Every installment of the podcast opens a new door into the world of music-whether it's a deep dive into a legendary artist's creative process, a walk through the overlooked corners of music history, or a compelling conversation with the people who shape the soundtrack of our lives.

 There’s an entire universe of rhythm, narrative, nostalgia, discovery, and behind-the-scenes insight spread across our past episodes, each one crafted to make your next walk, drive, workout, or moment of downtime more meaningful, more memorable, and more connected to the music you love. So don’t stop here—take a few extra steps and check out the rest of the Takin’ a Walk – Music History on Foot catalog.

The inspiring music stories are waiting for you are as timeless, surprising, and meaningful as the songs that have carried you through your life. Keep listening and discover your next favorite episode.

Takin’ A Walk: In-depth music interviews exploring the stories and music history behind the songs.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Taking a Walk.

Speaker 2 (00:01):
I'm buzz night and welcome back to the Taking a
Walk Podcast. Today we are revisiting our top episodes from
twenty twenty five, and this one is a conversation that
resonated deeply with music lovers everywhere, including me. It originally
aired on October tenth, twenty twenty five. It features the
extraordinary Grammy nominated singer songwriter Maggie Rose, an artist who

(00:26):
understands it. While no one gets out of this alive,
we can certainly make the journey beautiful along the way.
She was fresh off the release of her critically acclaimed
twenty twenty four album No One Gets Out Alive, which
Rolling Stone hailed as one of the best albums of
the year, and Maggie joined us to discuss her stunning
new EP, Cocoon, featuring her powerful collaboration with Grace Potter.

(00:51):
I'm poison in my Well. I can't wait for you
to hear once again or for the first time. Number
four on the Top five of twenty twenty five, with
Maggie Rose coming up next Taking a Walk. Maggie, Welcome
to the Taking a Walk Podcast. I'm so happy to

(01:12):
have you.

Speaker 3 (01:13):
I'm so happy to be here, thanks for having me.

Speaker 2 (01:16):
So the opening volley we like to bring out is
the question, no, what's coming you do, don't you? The
question being if you could take a walk with somebody.
I'm blushing now, you see, if you could take a
walk with somebody, living or dead, who would you take
a walk with? Then maybe where would you take that walk?

Speaker 3 (01:36):
Okay, I'm gonna cheat because I have to say two people.
Paul McCartney because he's the greatest and I want to
hear all the stories about those early days and the caverns,
but I also want his take on where music is today.
And if I can be so greedy, I have to
also say Abraham Lincoln because he was one of our

(01:59):
greatest residence during such incredibly divisive time and I would
want to know what he would think about today and
how he would navigate today.

Speaker 2 (02:11):
That's awesome. I just recorded a future episode yesterday with
Eric from the band Midlake, and he said Abraham Lincoln,
and he was talking himself out of it a bit
at first, and I said, wait a minute, you know,
he's he's one of the guys, right, He's.

Speaker 3 (02:29):
Like he's one of the guys. Yeah, Like absolutely paramount
to our history. People kind of chuckle when I say that,
because they think that as a musician you sort of
need to default to another musician. But you know, I'd
also work very hard to make Abraham Lincoln a fan
of my music. That would be a cool accomplishment to have.

(02:52):
But yeah, I mean, I think that those really were
unprecedented times and how did he turn down the temperature?
And how could how could he possibly unite our country today?

Speaker 2 (03:09):
Yeah? What could we learn from our past, you know?

Speaker 3 (03:14):
And what would he think about where we've arrived. I mean,
I'm sure that might be a kind of brutal criticism
from him to see where we've come.

Speaker 2 (03:24):
But.

Speaker 3 (03:26):
I think that it would just be a eye opening
to have some perspective from someone who was able to
in some sort of solution during a time where it
felt impossible.

Speaker 2 (03:38):
And Paul McCartney would then set us straight down industry wise,
where things are absolutely heading. One of the things I
love about all of your music, the new song Staying Cocoon,
the EP, and certainly your great career is the fact
that you touch many different genres.

Speaker 3 (04:02):
You like.

Speaker 2 (04:05):
Bending the rules a bit over your career. What inspired
you to always think that way?

Speaker 3 (04:12):
I think it's less about bending the rules and not
really regarding rules, trying to kind of serve each song
with the sonic arrangement that it needs. And I like
to explore my capabilities and continue examining myself as an artist.

(04:32):
So I think that just naturally brings me to these
different these different soundscapes. And I'm very collaborative, so I
know that that also lends itself to some of the
different sounds that you hear. Is just all the different
people I work with.

Speaker 2 (04:49):
And you were a fan favorite at Americana Fest recently.
It sounds like you had multiple great experiences. Do you
want to talk about one with the symphony in particular.

Speaker 3 (05:03):
Yes, it was surreal. So on my last album, No
One Gets Out Alive, I had a lot of these
really great orchestral arrangements, and we actually used a symphony
in Macedonia for the recording. This was something that sort
of came out of the pandemic where these incredible symphonies
were able to remotely record scores for films and arrangements

(05:27):
for albums like my own. So this is the first
time that I actually got to realize that kind of
presentation with an actual ensemble behind me, it was seventy people,
So that was daunting because that's a big train and
once it's moven, there's no stopping it, there's no improvising,

(05:48):
So that part was nerve wracking, but it just was
I just got totally swept up in the experience, and
it felt like one of those moments where you know
there aren't many, but where you get there and you're like, Okay,
this is kind of that touch point of all this
work that I've been doing over the last couple of years.
To be able to play this music with these musicians

(06:12):
who've dedicated their lives to their craft and just talk
about a collaborative experience. It was like everybody together helping
carry these songs through. And something happened right before I
hit the stage where I was able to consciously slow
my brain down and be like, please enjoy this and

(06:32):
don't let the sensory overload just make it go by
so quickly, and I was able to really settle in
and enjoy the night. In just that concert hall in Nashville.
It's so beautiful, and all the people that contributed to
this record, so many of them were there, and it

(06:52):
just felt like a big celebration, and I hope it's
the first of many. Now that we have these arrangements,
I know there's symphonies all over world that I'd love
to recreate that night with.

Speaker 2 (07:02):
I got chills. It's awesome, It's fantastic.

Speaker 3 (07:05):
I got chills too. It was It was really very,
very special.

Speaker 2 (07:10):
I want to talk about the twenty twenty four album
No One Gets Out Alive. It, you know, certainly has
a haunting title. What was your headspace as you were
in the midst of that project and that creation.

Speaker 3 (07:26):
I kind of felt like I had nothing to lose.
I wrote that song with Natalie Humby and Sunny Sweeney,
and it was after I'd lost people close to me.
I had people that passed away, I had friendships that
didn't sustain the pandemic and all the stress of that,

(07:51):
and I just felt like life is too short and
it should be celebrated, and we should create things that
are beautiful. And I kind of took that approach to
the production as well, Like these were big arrangements, and
we swung for the fences and I tried to put
together like the best band that I could put together

(08:14):
in the studio, and I just really I went for it,
I suppose, And it's a lot about life and all
of its wonder and you know how different events affect
our perception of the passage of time, and it's about gratitude,
and I think I just was at a place in
my life where it was just so like, incredibly palpable,

(08:41):
and all the joy and sorrow just felt like a
really creative moment I think for me.

Speaker 2 (08:50):
And then moving into cocoon, you have your son, Graham,
your new young lad. How much did motherhood influence this
metaphor of sort of transformation and emergence.

Speaker 3 (09:11):
I think there was also about insulation, to protecting myself
during this time of a physical creation and also just
musical creation. I wanted to have this snapshot of these
collections of songs during this really special time in my life.
And it also was about growth and all the beautiful

(09:35):
things about it, but also the sharper edges of it
and how you know, not everyone wants to grow at
the same rate as you. Not everyone wants to go
with you to this new place that you're going. And
emergence is worthwhile, but you shed some things on your
way to that next phase as well. So I think

(09:59):
it was a lot of it about anticipation, letting go
of things that I didn't need to bring with me
in this new chapter as a mother, you unburdening myself
of some resentment. And also there's songs about hope that
I want to impart that idea on Graham and show
him that there is a world where hope is very

(10:22):
much alive.

Speaker 2 (10:24):
You collaborated on Cocoon with this this gentle flower who
needs to come out of her shell by the name
of Grace Potter.

Speaker 3 (10:34):
You know, she's such a wallflower, she's so shy. I
loved y'all's episode by the way she's She's such a
great person. The song is about, you know, not necessarily
being able to support someone else in their successes and
the antithesis of that. She's so supportive and like her

(10:55):
Vermont community benefits from that, but also her creative community.
She's always lifting people up. And I shared this music
with her after it was done because I wanted her
to hear it and I wanted her feedback on it.
But really I was angling to get her to jump
on this song with me, and she, just the way

(11:16):
she is, she said yes on the spot when I
asked her over to the phone and her husband, Eric Valentine,
is an incredible producer and engineer, so the two of them,
I think that night, went and put Grace's part on
Poisoning My Will, and she sent it back the next
day and I just was like, this is surreal and

(11:36):
an example of like, asked for what you want and
you might get it, and we certainly did with what
she contributed to that song.

Speaker 2 (11:45):
It's so great. I love it Poisoning My Will And
thanks for your nice words on having Grace on. She
makes it very easy to roll with the flow because
she's got such amazing energy and focus and.

Speaker 3 (12:01):
I love going on walks with her. I mean just
she is. She's so generous with just her her thoughts,
her takes on what's going on, and she'll just sit
in it with you and kind of you know, there's
not an agenda. She's trying to figure it all out
and work through it with people.

Speaker 2 (12:23):
Can you remember the first time in your life that
you were impacted by music?

Speaker 3 (12:30):
Yes, I mean I was very young, and I actually
think it was because I always loved just sing around
the house and I love to perform for my parents'
friends and they'd come over for dinner. Like I just
was a bit of a showboat in that way. But
I think what impacted me was seeing this group of

(12:52):
adults all of a sudden fall silent and pay attention
and gather together just to like commune music. I think
seeing the power of that in the community that it
brings at such an early age was pretty impactful to me.

(13:13):
And there were some pretty cool opportunities as a very
young person to sing with other people and choirs and
just kind of getting to learn from that. And also
my parents played great music around the house too, Like
my mom would just be like, what do you think
about this song? She played like the Duds and Mary

(13:34):
Shape and Carpenter and talk about their songwriting. And it
just was like a very alive in my house.

Speaker 2 (13:42):
And very diverse musically, which leads to your diverse musical approach.
Certainly there was a pop side. I mean, you grew
up outside of DC, right.

Speaker 3 (13:52):
That's right, Yeah, so you And also the divas were
just like abound when I was growing up, I feel
like more so then now. It's just like the female
singer was everywhere in every genre, really celebrated, and I
think that definitely shaped my inclination to want to sing

(14:16):
and belt it out like them.

Speaker 1 (14:18):
We'll be right back with more of the Taken a
Walk Podcast. Welcome back to the Taken a Walk Podcast.

Speaker 2 (14:30):
How much since you moved to Nashville quite a few
years ago, has Nashville changed.

Speaker 3 (14:38):
It's a totally different town in my opinion, But I've
also found a different Nashville myself personally. I think in
the creative community that I have around me. And when
I moved here in two thousand and eight, I was
releasing commercial country music. I was doing the country radio thing,
and you know, being dragged around the country doing radio tours,

(15:02):
trying to get the one song played on that station.
And I feel like I would put a whole year
of my life into promoting this one song when you
know we have multitudes within us, and just the template
didn't really work for me. And I think that forced
me to explore my sound and that's when the soul

(15:23):
started to come out. And my departure from that approach
actually just opened up my world of music. So I
started working in a different way, and I think that
that made me attract people who maybe aren't what you
would typically assume a Nashville musician to be like Nashville's

(15:47):
music is. The spectrum is so much more broad than
it was before. You'll find people making all kinds of music,
and I love that it's growing. Traffic sucks, but the
food's gotten really good. I do wish that there was
some reverence for the old music venues around town. This

(16:09):
being music city, I think that we've forsaken some of
those really awesome institutions that made people want to move
here in the first place. There's so much it's given
way to the bottom line and tourism and all those
things which are necessary proceeded to grow. But yeah, I
think I'm missing the soul of the music scene a

(16:32):
little bit in terms of the live entertainment. But there
are some incredible places still.

Speaker 2 (16:40):
There's a lot of unsung musical heroes, songwriters, session people
that need to be showcased and acknowledged more. I know
there's a ton of them that worked on Cocoon with you.
Why don't you shine a light on some of these
at times unsung heroes.

Speaker 3 (17:02):
Yeah, I think Melissa Fuller is an incredible writer. She's
also a great artist, and I've written songs with her
own previous projects. Davis Nash. He was one of the
producers with Bent Tanner who produced my last album, and
Davis helped me write a lot of the songs. He

(17:25):
is an incredible programmer and musician. The Ben Tanner is
he's with the Alabama Shakes out on tour right now,
and he's been so instrumental to my evolution. We made
an album down at Fame and Muscle Shows a couple
of years ago, and then we worked on No. One

(17:47):
Gets Out Alive. And he's someone who really gets into
trenches with me and helps me with a and our
process and selecting the songs, and I mean the role
of producer he takes and he runs with it offers
so much more. Of course, Natalie Hemby's a great friend
of mine. She collaborated on it. Steph Jones, who's had

(18:10):
a hell of a year. She's written a bunch of
songs for Sabrina Carpenter and has a great op sensibility.
Oh boy, I know I'm forgetting a bunch of people.
But my sound guy, Anderson Clenn Dennen helps with the
mixing of it, and he's like this young kid who

(18:31):
comes out on the road with us and is such
a whiz I'm very excited to watch his career grow.
I forget that he's like only twenty four or something,
so yeah, it's exciting. I stay inspired by the people
I get to work with.

Speaker 2 (18:47):
I mean, you've been an independent, you know, kind of
self founded in your own way. Can you give a
piece of advice to artists trying to make it without
the big machine behind them?

Speaker 3 (19:01):
Yes, I mean I think you have to be resolute
and the fact that this is what you want to do,
and definitely don't let what's around you validate your efforts.
I've done this with a big machine. I've done it
independently over the years, of course, and I think just

(19:25):
always wanting to write that next song, and staying curious
and wanting to continue to examine myself that's never gone away.
I think staying creative is a choice. You have to
just be diligent about it. I think that's an approach it.

(19:46):
I feel like I need to always be trying to
flex that muscle. And also I have done this in
such a grassroots way. I think playing live regularly and
all these different markets and making sure that I go
back and nurture those communities that have come out and

(20:07):
seen me over the years, Like that's a really important
way for me to sustain my audience and what I do,
even if it's a little bit longer of a lapse
in between releasing new music, Like we just we try
to stay out there because the live show is so
important to me in connecting with people.

Speaker 2 (20:29):
Talk about some more of the songs on Cocoon that,
in particular you feel are going to really play great
out in front of people.

Speaker 3 (20:39):
Well, I failed to mention Chuck Harmony and Claude Kelly
as some of my collaborators. They wrote the title track
with me, and they also wrote Relentless with me, and
they actually are very celebrated songwriters. They've written songs for Miley,
Cyrus and all sorts of people. But I think Relentless

(21:02):
is a really great message for the EP as a
whole because I wrote it just a few days after
I found out that I was dropped by my previous
record label. I have a new home and everything turned
out all right, But that was one of those moments

(21:24):
where you're asking, like, how does an artist keep going
without the big machine. That was definitely a moment where
I decided to double down and press on, And I
think that that always goes over really well in audience
because it's not necessarily providing a solution for the listener,
but it is definitely an encouraging message.

Speaker 2 (21:48):
The Washington Post little newspaper called you one of music's
rising storytellers. What stories are you most compelled to tell
right now, at the stage of year of your.

Speaker 3 (22:02):
Life right now? Stories of hope. The last song on
the EP is a song called Fly and it's the
only song in this collection of songs that I didn't
write and record, you know, while I was pregnant. I

(22:23):
actually wrote it years ago with Caitlin Smith and Rolei Goldswick,
and it almost I felt like I was like, this
is too hopeful, this is too positive, and because of
where I am right now with my son and I'm
excited about the future, I felt like, Okay, this is

(22:46):
time to share this message and maybe it'll be like
Field of Dreams. If you put it out there, it'll happen,
And I think that's what we need right now. No,
it sounds trite, but if you can package it in
a way that you can believe, and I feel like

(23:06):
I'm trying to get there, then that's okay. We can
I'll have more of that out there, for sure.

Speaker 2 (23:13):
Maggie, you clearly have this approach which is not leaving
anything you know, taken for granted and just playing and
creating as if it's the last time you're going to
play and create. You you have that all in thousand
percent approach for sure. Do you know when that first

(23:35):
clicked in as a musician, that attitude?

Speaker 3 (23:39):
I mean, I think sometimes it's it's almost like I
just need to get in that mode and hope that
I will mentally arrive there. So like it appears that way,
but I think it's because I see this as a vocation.
I think think it's there's not really a plan B,

(24:04):
there's not something else I would rather be doing. So
it makes it very simple in a way because you're
just like, well, this is it, and I'm getting to
do what I love. And yeah, it comes with some
challenges and it can be kind of gnarly at times,
but I don't have to wonder about what else I'd
want to be doing, So that kind of makes it

(24:26):
easy in a way to just say, Okay, we're all in.

Speaker 2 (24:33):
I'm so grateful that you came on the podcast and
for I'm so grateful for the music that you continue
to give us and the performances and and oh I
neglected to let you plug your podcast, so why don't
you plug your podcast?

Speaker 3 (24:48):
Thank you. It's called Salute to Songbird and I get
to interview all my favorite women in the industry. And
I just did a special episode Caitlin Smith and Lucy
Silvis and Jillian Jacqueline about motherhood and being a working
mom in the industry. But I've had Melissa Etherra John

(25:10):
and Nancy Wilson, and it's just it's so dreamy. And
now I'm doing in front of a live audience, which
is really fun because I'm talking to other performers and
they just really give me great interviews with that energy
in the room. So I hope to continue doing it.
In the list of people that I'm being recommended, it

(25:30):
just never ends. It's constantly growing because there's so many
amazing people out there to talk to well.

Speaker 2 (25:36):
And those people want to be on with the cool people,
and you are one of the cool people.

Speaker 3 (25:41):
So thanks Buss.

Speaker 2 (25:43):
Yeah, thanks Maggie.

Speaker 3 (25:44):
I'm trying.

Speaker 2 (25:45):
I appreciate you being on. This is awesome.

Speaker 3 (25:47):
It's great to talk to you. Thank you so much
for having me.

Speaker 1 (25:52):
Thanks for listening to this episode of the Taking a
Walk podcast. Share this and other episodes with your friends
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a Walk is available on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts,
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