Maren Morris talks new album, getting back to touring ahead of Aug. 12 show in Indy

For the first time since 2019, country artist Maren Morris is returning to Indianapolis with a new record.

The singer/songwriter is making a stop at the TCU Amphitheater in White River State Park, 801 W. Washington St., on Aug. 12 at 8 p.m. as part of her headline Humble Quest tour — named after her latest album, which was released on March 25.

After being cooped up at home for so long, Morris said she’s just grateful — not just for the opportunity to be back out in the world and playing music for people again — but for everyone who has come back to one of her shows and even braved rainy weather to see her.

“It’s just so fun for me, the artist and writer,” Morristold IndyStar in a recent phone interview, “to see words that you wrote in the four walls of your home during a pandemic are actually connecting with thousands of people each night.”

At the beginning of the pandemic, Morris’ song “The Bones” went No. 1 on the Billboard Adult Pop Songs chart as people began using the song as a sort of anthem for the times, Morris said.

“Which I thought was such an amazing shift,” she said. “A song that you wrote about your engagement morphing into this kind of worldly ‘we’re gonna get through this’ mantra is definitely something that’s really moving each night when I perform it.”

The 12-time Grammy nominee expressed how much she’s enjoyed playing in Indianapolis in the past and is excited to perform her new music for Hoosiers on Friday for the first time since her Girl tour in 2019.

“I mean, we always have fun in Indy,” she said. “It’s gonna feel like a homecoming three years later.”

Morris said "Humble Quest" is an organic piece of work, touching on topics such as motherhood, marriage and death — “normal life things,” she said.

Because Morris began writing the songs for "Humble Quest" during the pandemic and wasn’t sure when she would be able to see or sing for people again, she said her creative process was more internalized.

“It was definitely all kind of about what I was feeling inside and not so much like, ‘oh is this going to sound good on the radio,’” she said.

However, Morris said she’s thankful her new music is being received well and fans are reactivating positively to it. She said the fans that come to her shows already know the whole record and are just as excited about the deep cuts as they are the singles.

Her latest single “Circles Around this Town,” has quickly become a fan favorite. However, Morris said many of her newer songs, such as “Good Friends,” “Tall Guy” and “I Can’t Love You Anymore,” really pop in her shows while “Background Music” is a more emotional moment during the set.

The last song of the show, which Morris said is performed out in the crowd, is both a fun and emotional moment for her and the crowd.

“A lot of our shows on this tour are in amphitheaters,” she said, “and it just feels like these songs were made to be played out under the stars.”

Although Morris said she loves country music, the singer/songwriter — who has spoken out against sexism, racism and lack of diversity in the industry on more than one occasion — said she still has hope that things will start to move in a direction where everyone has a seat at the table and can be a part of it.

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Morris said she’s becoming more independent and true to herself as an artist rather than continuing to worry about the consequences of existing as a woman in the male-dominatedindustry.

“I want to leave a good impression on country music as someone that contributes to it,” she said, “but, yeah, it gets exhausting trying to fight the system.”

She hopes people will be able to come to her shows and feel safe, have fun for a few hours and forget about their problems.

“I look at my crowd and it’s extremely diverse and welcoming and everyone has a seat at the table,” Morris said. “That’s the kind of message I want to bring out, not just from me and my music, but from my words and the way I conduct myself.”

Tickets for Maren Morris’ Humble Quest Tour at TCU Amphitheater are available at livemu.sc/3zMuD2M.

Contact IndyStar reporter Chloe McGowan at CWilkersonMcGowan@gannett.com. Follow her Twitter: @chloe_mcgowanxx.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Maren Morris talks new album, reconnecting with fans before Indy show