Carrie Newcomer - my newest discovery

A couple of weeks ago my husband and I went to see Philip Gulley and Carrie Newcomer at an event called In Word and Song and described as "One Night, Two Quakers, Infinite Possibilities". I'll admit I went to see Gulley and didn't really know who Carrie Newcomer was. My husband was familiar with her work because he'd seen the show Wilderness Plots on the local PBS station and then ordered the CD. As it turns out, she is a singer who lives in Bloomington, Indiana (one of my favorite places on earth) and happens to be a Quaker as well.

It was a very enjoyable evening. Gulley shared several tales that are in his newest upcoming installment in his Porch Tales series of books: I Love You, Miss Huddleston: And Other Inappropriate Longings of My Indiana Childhood. Newcomer sang songs from her latest CD entitled The Geography of Light. I have to recommend that you check out that last link and listen to some of the songs. After the performance, we ordered the CD and it has been playing on a loop in my van ever since. Okay, I'll admit, sometimes when I clean the kitchen I bring it in and listen to it there too. I would describe it as spiritual folk music. It isn't religious but it is spiritual. A favorite of mine is the song called Geodes. Geodes are so common in Indiana that they are often overlooked and thought unremarkable. But her song points out how geodes are miracles and makes us look on the common in our everyday lives as the miracles that they often are. How much more spiritual can you get?

I think Carrie Newcomer is another one of Indiana's little known gems. Check her out and see if you don't agree with me.