Maggie Rose is glowing. Walking into the American Songwriter studio you could see there was a change in the way she moves; a calm confidence and a joy that has reshaped her perspective and filled her music with renewed purpose. The change comes from welcoming her baby boy, Graham, into the world.
“He’s just a happy, sweet, chill baby for now,” Rose shares with American Songwriter. “I don’t want to jinx it, but it’s been just the joy of my life. I think when he arrived, his reaction to music wasn’t a mystery to us. It’s very profound, and he just gets so animated. Different types of music will kind of elicit a different response in him.”
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Along with a new baby boy, Rose has also welcomed a new EP, Cocoon. Co-produced by Ben Tanner and Davis Naish, the EP, recorded while she was pregnant, examines growth and all that comes with it. The six-song collection includes standout tracks “Poison In My Well,” a collaboration with Grace Potter, “Same Way,” about “a long-term relationship where it gets into the complications of being alongside someone for a very long period of time and then seeing your paths diverge, where maybe they don’t want to join you on that path of growth that you’re on,” and the closing “Fly,” that soars as an upbeat empowering anthem, leaving the listener with a sense of freedom and the belief that anything is possible.
“As we all know metaphorically, it’s that chrysalis that contains the being that’s growing and changing, and there’s a big metamorphosis that I was experiencing,” Rose says. “Writing [Cocoon] was a way to kind of navigate some anger from how some things fell apart surrounding No One Gets Out Alive, but also the resilience that I tapped into when I found out that Graham was on the way and I recommitted to the music.
“These songs are a bridge between my last LP and where I’m headed, my old self and my new and I’m so happy that I was able to capture some feelings in these songs that represent that amazing time in my life,” Rose adds.
Cocoon reflects Rose’s evolution and her journey into new motherhood, signaling that she’s entering her most dynamic musical era yet. Rose sat down with American Songwriter to go behind the EP and share what she learned about herself while writing the album.
American Songwriter: Congratulations! You recently had a baby boy. Tell us about Graham.
Maggie Rose: He’s a rock and roll baby. He’s been to 15 different states already, on tour buses, planes, trains, automobiles, and even a pontoon boat ride. So he’s been on all sorts of vehicles. But he’s so well-adjusted and very well taken care of. He has lots of caretakers out there on the road. And as you know, my husband and I work together, so we’re always together as a family unit. And we have an incredible friend who’s his nanny as well. So all his needs are met, and he gets free live music whenever he wants it.
When he arrived, his reaction to music wasn’t a mystery to us. It’s very profound, and he just gets so animated. And different types of music will kind of elicit a different response in him. He likes jazz like his dad, that’s the bath-time music. I’m not talking easy listening, he likes the cacophony of just a New York jazz club. But he’s just a happy, sweet, chill baby for now. I don’t want to jinx it, but it’s been just the joy of my life.
AS: A new baby, A new EP, Cocoon, tell us what we will hear from Cocoon and how it is different from your previous album, No One Gets Out Alive.
MR: The album, No One Gets Out Alive, is a bridge to something else that I’m working on in Cocoon. As we all know metaphorically, it’s that chrysalis that contains the being that’s growing and changing, and there’s a big metamorphosis that I was experiencing. With growth, that also means you need to unburden yourself of any ill-harbored feelings that you have, and also prepare for the greatness that’s to come.
So writing this was a way to navigate some anger from how some things fell apart surrounding No One Gets Out Alive, but also the resilience that I tapped into when I found out that Graham was on the way, and I recommitted to the music. We got a Grammy nomination and had all these late-night appearances when I was very visibly pregnant and walking the red carpet at the Grammys. I think it was me tapping into the growth I was experiencing —not only physically, growing this little human, but also in what I needed to do to be prepared for this next phase.
AS: You kicked the EP off with the empowering song “Relentless.” Can you share the story behind this song?
MR: That was written several days after I found out that I was dropped by the label that I’d released No One Gets Out Alive with. I wrote it with Chuck Harmony and Claude Kelly, incredible writers, good friends of mine. We wrote a lot of songs together for No One Gets Out Alive. So these are friends of mine, I’m sitting across from them in this room, telling them about how devastated I feel, and we collectively decide that we’re going to be strong and optimistic and believe in what it is that we’re doing. We don’t need these other things to validate our resilience and our love of this material.
I wanted to package the message in a way that was going to be relatable to everybody. I know that it was a ‘fake it till you make it’ kind of moment. Writing that song, those lyrics, and the energy and power behind it were me sort of setting the table, to hopefully eventually be able to sit down at it and live those words. And it got me motivated to do that, and I think I ended up doing that with the year that followed.
AS: Tell me about how you put these songs together, the sequence of the album, and what it means to you.
MR: Putting these songs together was one of those things where they were all written pretty close together, very topical to what I was feeling. Being in a state of creation made me feel really creative and excited about making new music again. I worked with Ben Tanner and Davis Naish on this project, and they are so good at capturing these big vocals. I wanted songs that had a strong message with a strong lyric.
AS: “Same Way” has a strong lyric. Can you share what that song is about?
MR: “Same Way” was about growth and not the easiest aspects of it. I wrote it with Anderson East and Charlotte Sands. It’s sort of a long-term relationship kind of song where it gets into the complications of being alongside someone for a very long period of time and then seeing your paths diverge, where maybe they don’t want to join you on that path of growth that you’re on. Sometimes you have to leave that person behind, even though there’s still love there, but you’re not evolving at the same rate.
AS: That was actually one of my favorites on the album.
MR: I love that one. It’s a complicated feeling to write about someone that you love very much, and there’s not a blow-up or some big conflict; it’s just this understanding that there’s a fork in the road and you are going to take a different path from that person. Maybe those paths will converge again, but it was a song that I felt was one of the first ones I wanted to share. Because growth always seems to be synonymous with this positive action, but there’s a lot of shedding that has to happen sometimes, and heavy emotions that can be more difficult.
AS: While writing this album, Cocoon, did you learn anything about yourself that you hadn’t known before?
MR: Yes. I realized there’s a song called “Poison In My Well” that was born from this habit of mine: even with all these wonderful things going on, I can have a propensity to focus on the naysayers or people who aren’t in the front row cheering you on. I think being honest with myself, knowing that that was a bad habit that I had to break while also telling them off in the song, was something that I’ve been trying to break free from doing. Because there’s always going to be, I don’t know why our brains are wired for us to focus on those things. It’s not helpful.
AS: For “Poison In My Well,” you brought in Grace Potter to sing on that with you. Talk about that collaboration. How did it come about?
MR: Grace is an example of someone who is very good at celebrating other people. I don’t know how she has so much energy. She’s someone that I even talked to when I found out that I was expecting, because she has her son, Sagan, and she was very honest with me about every aspect of it. We just had this really cool rapport, and I wanted to share the new music with her just to get her feedback on it, because I respect her so much and I’ve always admired her power.
She was so complimentary about the music, and on the phone call, I just asked her on the spot if she would want to sing ‘Poison In My Well’ with me. And she said, ‘Yes’ on the spot. That’s who she is. I think she said it in a very enthusiastic way. And her husband, Eric Valentine, is an incredible producer and engineer. So I sent her the song, and she sent me her vocals and this awesome performance that she had done that transformed the song a day later. That’s how fast she was about it. That’s how quickly she jumped in.
It was a dream duet. I love that it’s two women who support each other singing about this idea, ‘Come on, don’t be a negative Nancy. Support people who are enjoying some victories. Don’t poison everybody’s well.’
AS: You mentioned that Grace’s vocals transformed the song. In what way? What did she bring to the song?
MR: Well, first of all, whenever you hear her voice come in on the second verse, it’s exciting. She’s got this texture to her voice that is so unmistakably her own. Also, this song has some swagger and attitude, and I can’t think of a better person to embody that performance than her. And she does these really cool ad-libs on the end, it soars, and we’re just kind of going back and forth. I think it just added a little edge to the song that made it better than what the original version was.
AS: I also want to ask you about the reimagined “I Can’t Make You Love Me” with Vince Gill. Talk about how that came together and working with Vince Gill.
MR: I must have just amazing artist friends in the industry, because that was also an example of just picking up the phone, calling Vince Gill, and asking him if he wanted to join me on this song. He does not text. If you leave him a voicemail, he will always get back to you.
I was sitting there listening to it ring and thought, ‘Okay, I’ll leave him a message.’ He answered—he was watching the World Series. He said, ‘What up, kiddo?’ And I told him how much I love this song, and he agreed that it’s one of the best songs ever written. I said, ‘Well, do you want to hear it? Do you want me to play you what we’ve done? He goes, ‘I’m not your A&R. If you want me to sing on it, I’m going to sing on it.’ And the next week, we went to his home studio and I watched him sing the second verse, and just hearing that legendary voice with my own was pretty surreal.
AS: You collaborate with a lot of people. Is there anyone left that you’d like to have a dream collaboration with?
MR: Yes, there are a lot of people left. How much time do you have? Carole King, she’s incredible. Stevie Nicks and Jack White would be incredible. Brandi Carlile, Mavis Staples, Phish. They could use some of my vocals there. Dave Matthews. I could go on and on and on and on. There are so many people in Nashville that I feel I’ve gotten to just jump up on stage with. That’s why I love living here; it’s so dense with talent, and it keeps me inspired.
AS: For those people listening to Cocoon, what do you want the message to be that they take away from it?
MR: I want them to understand that growth is worth pursuing, but that there are edges to it, and that’s okay. There are ways to navigate through it. Hopefully, these songs will help them. It’s also about moments where I’m sticking up for myself, and that’s not a tell-off. It’s part of growth, too. Claiming your power and knowing who you are and where you want to go might take a little work and be rocky, but I think it’s worth it.
AS: What else is there for us to look forward to with Maggie Rose?
MR: Well, we have a bunch of tour dates for the rest of the year with this music. We’ll be releasing every song from the EP. And then there’s new music that I’ve been simultaneously working on, so we’ll be back at it next year.
MAGGIE ROSE TOUR DATES
10/25 – Sikeston, MO –Bootheel Rodeo
11/4-8 – Sixthman Cruise Miami to Cozumel, Mexico – Live Loud Fest
11/30 – Miami Beach, FL – Nashbash
12/11 – Austin, TX – The Paramount Theatre
12/19 & 20 – Bethesda, MD – Bethesda Theater
Photos by Shervin Lainez
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