“This album is a collection of songs inspired by the famous Western painter Charles M. Russell and my life in Great Falls, Montana, where Charlie lived and worked,” says award-winning “Native Americana” fingerstyle guitarist and songwriter Cary Morin who was born in Billings, Montana, in 1962. The album Morin is mentioning is his upcoming release, Innocent Allies—out January 26th.
With the new LP, Morin observes details in Charles M. Russell’s painting from his perspective as a Native Crow and sets them to song. “My father was an Assiniboine tribal member from Wolf Point, Montana, and my mother from The Crow Tribe in Lodge Grass, Montana,” he recalls. “Surrounded by music and art as a child, I was also surrounded by my father’s and grandfather, Robert Yellowtail’s, favorite artist and local hero, Charles Marion Russell. His work was everywhere; in our house, in businesses, on the walls of our families’ homes, and at the state capital.
Today, Morin released the latest single from Innocent Allies, “Indian Hunters Return,” which was written with his son, Eli. “My wife and I were on tour in the Southern U.S. in January 2022. We stopped in Ohio to visit family. We flew our son Eli to join us for a few days,” remembers Morin. “After describing this project to Eli, I invited him to write a song with me. I told him about my memory of a Charlie print that hung in my grandfather’s house for as long as I could remember.”
The painting, dubbed Indian Hunters Return by Russell when he finished it in 1900, depicts an image of a camp with several teepees and hunters returning from the hunt with food. “In that moment, you can see Charlie’s treatment of the sky, accented by the remaining snow on the ground,” says Morin. “There’s some commotion around the hunters’ return. The landscape is a calm but cold Montana winter day, with the familiar bare Cottonwood trees and a cloudy sky. The painting itself suggests the respect given to an elder tribal member offering the elder the opportunity to eat first before the others.”
“After viewing the image, we wrote down what we thought might have happened to the characters just before the action in the scene depicted in the painting,” says Morin, of whose recollection of this painting in his grandfather’s house is a vital childhood memory. “The story in the song speaks to things the hunters encountered on their hunt, including a man who was mourning the loss of his son. One could assume that it was in battle that he died. The hunters could hear the man singing on a hilltop in the distance and decided to leave him to his mourning.”
Fans can watch the “Indian Hunters Return” music video right here and check out Morin’s previously-released single, “Big Sky Sun Goes Down,” at this link. Pre-order or pre-save Innocent Allies ahead of its January 26th release here. For more information, please visit carymorin.com.
Innocent Allies Tracklist:
Big Sky Sun Goes Down
Waiting and Mad
Waiting for a Chinook
Old Timer’s Poem
Good Medicine
Killing the Blues
Indian Hunters Return
Whiskey Before Breakfast
Big Nose George’s Outlaw Blues
Fire Boat
Bullhead Lodge
Wally and Keeoma
Where the Trails Cross the Big Divide
Montana Sky
About Cary Morin: Internationally acclaimed as a mesmerizing live performer, Cary Morin’s soul-stirring voice and jaw-dropping fingerstyle guitar playing have captivated audiences for decades. “Cary is a unique and brilliant player, songwriter, and singer. I have huge respect for his style and technique,” says legendary multi-instrumentalist and songwriter David Bromberg. “If you haven’t heard him yet, you should.”
Morin’s career catalog fuses the best of American roots music: blues, folk, soul, bluegrass, and the timeless and distinctive sounds of the rural countryside, from the Western Plains and Rocky Mountains to the rhythmic melting pot of the deep South.
His music has reached millions through prestigious performances at venues like the Kennedy Center and Lincoln Center as well as national television and radio programs. He has shared stages with Taj Mahal, Los Lobos, and Bonnie Raitt, among countless others, while earning multiple awards including two Indigenous Music Awards for Best Blues CD. When not performing across the US and Europe, Morin finds inspiration in Northern Colorado, which he proudly calls home.
