Star Tribune State Fair

Like a country road, Molly Maher's music takes the long way home

The Twin Cities singer looks for opportunities to "stop, slow down and reset." Watch her performance on our virtual Grandstand.

By Jon Bream , Star Tribune
September 07, 2020 - 9:22 AM

Star Tribune

A not-always-visible force on the Twin Cities music scene, singer/songwriter Molly Maher wears many hats — talent booker, guitar tech, production manager, guitar-shop staffer, teacher and recording artist.

This spring Maher released "Follow," her first album in nine years and fourth studio effort. It's an alluringly organic, relaxed album that sounds like skilled musicians grooving together on a street in Mexico — and someone pressed the "record" button. Some selections, like "On the 18," are more like jams with an ambient radio in the background. Others are full-fledged songs that could be filed under Americana, folk or pop.

Nature flows through "Follow" as Maher waxes about a bird, a storm cloud and the open road.

"When I'm driving, I'll sometimes take the long way just to listen to music a little bit longer, just to let my head air out," said the former mainstay at Nye's and the Aster Café. "Right now, with what we're going through, it's a unique opportunity to stop, slow down and reset."

Jon Bream has been a music critic at the Star Tribune since 1975, making him the longest tenured pop critic at a U.S. daily newspaper. He has attended more than 8,000 concerts and written four books (on Prince, Led Zeppelin, Neil Diamond and Bob Dylan). Thus far, he has ignored readers’ suggestions that he take a music-appreciation class. jon.bream@startribune.com 612-673-1719