Maren Morris Drops New EP 'The Bridge'; Announces She Is Leaving Country Music
Morris is leaving country music, leaving these new tracks as her farewell to the genre.
By: Michael Major Sep. 15, 2023
Grammy-winning artist Maren Morris returns today with a two-track EP, The Bridge, which features two new tracks, “The Tree,” produced by Greg Kurstin and “Get the Hell Out of Here,” produced by Jack Antonoff. Watch the Jason Lester-directed videos below!
About The Bridge, Maren says…
“THE BRIDGE; a connecting, transitional, or intermediate route or phase between two adjacent conditions.
These two songs are incredibly key to my next step because they express a very righteously angry and liberating phase of my life these last couple of years but also how my navigation is finally pointing towards the future, whatever that may be or sound like. Honoring where I’ve been and what I’ve achieved in country music, but also freely moving forward.
‘The Tree’ is about a toxic ‘family tree’ burning itself to the ground. Halfway through, I realize it’s burning itself down without any of my help. This song evokes the pain of exhausting all your love and time for this person or ‘entity’ but realizing it’s just a draining, transactional relationship that isn’t nourishing in any healthy way. By the end of the song, I give myself permission to face the sun, plant new seeds where it’s safer to grow and realize that sometimes there IS greener grass elsewhere.
‘Get the Hell Out of Here’ is the part two to the tree burning. Being quite literally burned out, this is a story of me feeling pulled in every direction, needing everyone else’s understanding and acceptance but my own and how self-destructive that ultimately became. I relinquish control of trying to change everyone’s mind or bad behavior and focus on my own power going forward. Doing the right thing can feel lonely at times, but there are more friends than foes, so I finally quit making myself one of them.’”
Additionally, Maren is about to wrap an arena tour with The Chicks in Canada following a run of European dates and a sold-out headline show at London’s O2 Forum Kentish Town earlier this summer—see remaining dates below.
In a new profile with the LA Times, Morris revealed that she is leaving country music, leaving these new tracks as her farewell to the genre.
"But I’ve kind of said everything I can say. I always thought I’d have to do middle fingers in the air jumping out of an airplane, but I’m trying to mature here and realize I can just walk away from the parts of this that no longer make me happy," Morris shared.
Last year was a standout year for the superstar. She released her critically acclaimed album Humble Quest, which was named to best of the year lists from Pitchfork, the Los Angeles Times and Rolling Stone and earned her three Grammy nominations. She celebrated the album with the Humble Quest Tour, a run of headline shows at iconic venues across the U.S.
Earlier this year, she covered Billboard’s Pride month issue, was honored at the GLAAD Media Awards for her efforts as an ally and performed at Nashville’s Love Rising Benefit, which raised money to fight anti-LGBTQ legislation in Tennessee, as well as a handful of festivals including Something In The Water, Merlefest and Boston Calling. She also made a surprise guest appearance at Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour and performed with Brandi Carlile and The Highwomen at The Gorge Amphitheater in June.
Maren Morris is one of the leading voices in music today, a powerhouse armed with incredible vocal stylings and songwriting chops, sheer talent and an undeniable presence. In addition to a Grammy win and seventeen nominations, Maren has won five ACM Awards, five CMA Awards, three Billboard Music Awards, with several additional wins and nominations.
She has also broken streaming records, performed on late night TV multiple times, guest hosted “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” and toured the world over, selling out venues across the globe. She has released three critically acclaimed albums—HERO from 2016, GIRL from 2019 and Humble Quest from 2022—and her hit collaboration, “The Middle,” with Zedd from 2018 is six times Platinum-certified.
MAREN MORRIS LIVE
September 15 —Ottawa, ON—Live at Canadian Tire Centre†
September 16—London, ON—Budweiser Gardens†
September 18—Toronto, ON—Scotiabank Arena†
† with The Chicks
photo credit: Morgan Foitle
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