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Caitlin Canty's Grit And Ache Cohabit The 'Motel Bouquet'

David McClister

Caitlin Canty is an American singer and songwriter whose music carves a line through folk, blues, and country ballads. "Motel Bouquet," Canty’s third record, was produced by Grammy-nominated Noam Pikelny (Punch Brothers) and recorded live over three days in Nashville. Rolling Stone hails "Motel Bouquet" as “dreamy and daring” with “poetic lyrics and haunting melodies.”

Since the release of "Reckless Skyline" in 2015, Canty has put thousands of miles on her songs, circling through the U.S. and Europe. She warmed up stages for Mary Chapin Carpenter, The Milk Carton Kids and Josh Ritter and recorded with longtime collaborators Darlingside and with Down Like Silver, her duo with Peter Bradley Adams. She won the Troubadour songwriting competition at the Telluride Bluegrass Festival, and her song, “Get Up,” was nominated for Song of the Year in the Folk Alliance International Music Awards. Canty’s original recordings have recently appeared on CBS’s "Code Black" and on the Netflix original series, "House of Cards."

Raised in small-town Vermont, the daughter of a school teacher and a house painter, Canty earned her degree in biology in the Berkshires and subsequently moved to New York City. She spent her days in the city working as an environmental sustainability consultant and her nights making music at Lower East Side music halls and bars. In 2009, she quit her job and set out to make music full time. In 2015, she packed up her house plants and her 1939 Recording King guitar and drove to Nashville, TN, which she now calls home.

Listen to "Musician's Spotlight" for John Floridis's conversation with Caitlin Canty.

(Broadcast: "Musician's Spotlight,"  10/25/18 and 3/21/19. Listen on the radio Thursdays, 7:30 p.m., or via podcast.)

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