Maren Morris on Her Journey to the Stage — and Never Getting Off It

“I really sweat for all of this. Nothing was handed, it was all achieved,” Maren Morris explained as we embarked on a day in her world. From reminiscing about her first show at just 11-years-old to taking the stage at a major festival that afternoon, the 26-year-old singer-songwriter-producer took us through the journey of her career.

With her single “My Church” taking over the charts, Morris has a lot to be proud of. But the Texas-born musician doesn’t take all the credit — “it was always sort of a family affair,” she explained. “My mom and dad would drive me to every show and my sister would come along. Now, it’s sort of a win for all of us.”

Just hours before her big show, Morris recalls her first show in a Fort Worth, Texas honky tonk well over a decade ago. “I just remember people clapping afterward and being so freaked out but also excited. I didn’t want to get off the stage — I guess I never did,” she said.

Morris may have never left the stage, but she has certainly upgraded: She is currently on a huge national tour, playing some of the biggest venues in the country and is nominated for some major awards in country music.

It may have been a long road since the honky tonk in Fort Worth, but Morris’ career has soared to new heights over the course of the last 12 months.

“If I compared us doing a show and the reaction today and a year ago … they could not be more different,” she says. But the high she gets when she finishes a set where fans have been singing in unison is still just as moving as her first experience on stage. “I don’t know where the next step of my journey is, I want it to be inspiring,” she continues. “I feel like I’m just getting started.”