See Maren Morris Sing Bluesy ‘I Wish I Was’
When it came time to name Maren Morris’ upcoming record, the songwriter looked to “I Wish I Was” — a bluesy, beautiful bummer of a tune — for inspiration. She wound up with Hero, lifting the album title directly from the song’s chorus:
“I’m not the hero in the story/I’m not the girl that gets the glory/’Cause you’re looking for true love, and I’m not the one/But I wish, but I wish I was,” she sings.
Hero won’t hit shelves until June 3rd, but Morris is already previewing most of the album’s tracks during her tour dates, including a recent string of U.K. shows coinciding with London’s C2C Festival. Above, she teams up with guitarist Ben Lewis — one of the busier sidemen in roots music, with time logged in both Honeyhoney and Lera Lynn’s band — during a stripped-down gig at Nylon, a lounge adjacent to the O2 Arena. The guitar work is light and lovely, but it’s Morris’ pipes that steal the show, punctuating an otherwise melancholy song with acrobatic runs and soulful swagger.
Morris’ global road gigs continue tonight with a performance at SXSW. She’ll join Keith Urban’s Ripcord World Tour later this summer.