Mary Chapin Carpenter

Mary Chapin Carpenter offers a snapshot of her life on her latest release, the critically acclaimed The Age of Miracles, which she calls a personal exploration of regret and resilience. While writing, Carpenter looked inward to try to answer the unavoidable question: “What now?” The outcome is a collection of songs that blends personal tales of discovery and experience with more distant and imagined stories of one’s purpose and relationship to the universe.

The Age of Miracles is the twelfth studio album from five-time Grammy award-winning Carpenter, including one Grammy-winning and two Grammy-nominated albums. By combining folk, country, acoustic, rock and blues, Carpenter has proven herself to be an artist for whom the conventional boundaries of the music business disappear; she has always professed a love for all kinds of music, and those influences come together in songs that speak to the most personal of life’s details as well as to the most universal.

Carpenter was born in Princeton, N.J. in 1958 and lived in Japan from 1969 to 1971 before moving to Washington, D.C. Carpenter’s early musical loves included The Mamas & the Papas, Woody Guthrie, The Beatles and Judy Collins. Carpenter grew up playing the guitar and between college years at Brown University she would play local bars and clubs in the Washington, DC area.

After graduating from Brown in 1981, Carpenter continued playing and being a part of Washington’s music scene, where she met guitarist John Jennings, who would become her co- producer and long-time collaborator. Within a few years, she recorded a demo tape that led to a deal with Columbia Records where she spent nearly 20 years and sold over 13 million albums.

In 2006, Carpenter signed with Rounder Records and released her first album “The Calling” in 2007. It garnered her her 15th Grammy nomination. She also released a holiday album for Rounder in 2008, “Come Darkness, Come Light”.

Recently, Carpenter was honored with The Americana Association’s esteemed “Spirit of Americana Free Speech in Music Award”, which recognizes artists who have used their work to raise awareness and promote free speech. Past recipients include Johnny Cash, Kris Kristofferson, Judy Collins and Joan Baez, among others.

Discography1987 – Hometown Girl
1989 – State of the Heart
1990 – Shooting Straight in the Dark
1992 – Come On Come On
1994 – Stones in the Road †
1996 – A Place in the World
1999 – Party Doll and Other Favorites
2001 – Time*Sex*Love*
2004 – Between Here and Gone
2007 – The Calling †
2008 – Come Darkness, Come Light: Twelve Songs of Christmas
2010 – The Age of Miracles †

† Grammy nominated
Grammy Awards1992 Best Country Vocal Performance, Female – “Down at the Twist and Shout”
1993 Best Country Vocal Performance, Female – “I Feel Lucky”
1994 Best Country Vocal Performance, Female – “Passionate Kisses”
1995 Best Country Album – “Stones in the Road”
1995 Best Country Vocal Performance, Female – “Shut Up and Kiss Me”

Country Music Association1992 Female Vocalist of the Year
1993 Female Vocalist of the Year Academy of Country Music
1990 Top New Female Vocalist
1992 Top Female Vocalist

ACCOLADES AND HONORS:5 Grammy award wins and 15 nominations, including a “Record of the Year” nomination in 1994 for “He Thinks He’ll Keep Her.”

Four #1 Singles (“Down at the Twist and Shout,” “He Thinks He’ll Keep Her,” I Take My Chances,” Shut Up and Kiss Me”) and twelve Top Ten hits.

Has performed at the White House, Superbowl XXXI, the 2000 Democratic National Convention and the Grand Ole Opry.

Songs have been featured in various films, including Tin Cup, My Best Friend’s Wedding, Fly Away Home and Dead Man Walking.

Featured guest on various television and radio programs, including “A Prairie Home Companion,” “Sesame Street,” “Christmas in Washington,” NPR’s “Weekend Edition”, “The Late Show with David Letterman,” “CBS Sunday Morning,” “The Today Show” and “Austin City Limits.”

Performed with many acclaimed artists, including Tony Bennett, Aaron Neville, Vince Gill, Emmylou Harris and Sheryl Crow. Also performed at Bob Dylan’s Madison Square Garden 25th Anniversary, Willie Nelson’s Birthday Celebration and Farm Aid.

Involved in various charities and foundations, including Nashville Cares, the Vietnam Veterans of America Foundation, the Campaign for a Landmine Free World, UNICEF, Voters for Choice, the National Fair Housing Association, the Christopher Reeve Foundation, Amnesty International and took part in several USO tours to the Balkans and the Middle East to support servicemen and women worldwide