Carsie Blanton: 'I get to be just as weird as my little heart desires'

American singer-songwriter Carsie Blanton returns to Ireland this year after a very successful run of concerts here in 2024 and a barnstorming appearance at Other Voices in 2023.

Her shows have three key elements: her musical and songwriting craft; her entertaining delivery, and charismatic performance style; and her constant political activism and anti-fascist outlook that combines into what she describes as “hooks, chutzpah, and revolutionary optimism”.

She has stated she intends to tour Ireland every year going forward, and this time she will be playing four different venues in Cork during her visit.

“Everything about touring in Ireland is a relief and a vacation for me, that’s why I keep coming back! The political climate (especially the Irish solidarity with Palestine), the music culture, the humour, it’s all a much better match for me than US culture.

“I’m a socialist, and in Ireland I can say that in a pub without fear of being shot. Sometimes touring in the States feels like running a gauntlet of long drives and weird people and bad news. I have been touring the US for 20 years, and I love it, but I love it the way you love an old dog who is on death’s door and keeps shitting themselves.”

Carsie also sees touring as a great way to be introduced to places.

“Touring is certainly a unique way to see the world! I can’t stand being a regular tourist any more, I’m completely spoiled.

“When you play a gig, people want to feed you and house you and ride you and tell you jokes, it’s extraordinary.”

Spending time here and sharing stages with her peers means Carsie has lots of favourite Irish acts already: “I love Ye Vagabonds, and I love Wallis Bird! I’m also a huge fan of both Christy Moore and Paul Brady — I’ve just recorded a cover of Christy’s Hey! Ronnie Reagan. I’m hoping to get that to RTÉ before I’m over but it’s touch and go! I’m quite interested in protest music, and have been uncovering some gems lately in that genre such as Malvina Reynolds, Robert Wyatt, and Barbara Dane.”

Another American songwriter who spent a lot of time here every year features very strongly in Carsie’s artistic life.

“John Prine is one of my biggest influences as a writer, and I have always admired his gift for contrasting dark and difficult themes with humour and singable melodies.

“I think humour and melody make it possible to deal with much more serious topics — without coming off like a total bummer.”

Those sensibilities can be heard in songs such as You Ain’t Done Nothing (If You Ain’t Been Called A Red), After The Revolution, and Ugly Nasty Commie Bitch, which all feature on two of the records she released in 2024: After The Revolution and The Red Album.

She sums up her attitude by saying: “It is possible to face the world as it is — rapidly heating, ruled by grifters, ravaged by profitable wars — and still have hope. Not the narrow, grasping hope you might hang on an election or a billionaire, but a patient, zoomed-out hope.”

While the current political climate in the US dominates a lot of the news cycle, Carsie doesn’t consider her material to be about Donald Trump, per se.

“Trump is a symptom, not the disease, so as stupid and cruel and terrifying as his administration is, I don’t find it to be a significant departure from US politics throughout my lifetime. Luckily, all my songs are about the chaotic collapse of capitalism, so they’re only getting more relevant!”

Her shows in Ireland have several iterations, so her gigs in Cork will be quite different: “I’ll be over solo for a few dates in, then in a duo with my bass player and collaborator of many years, Joe Plowman. Then the last few dates — Dublin, Ballincollig, Galway, and the Kilkenny Roots Fest — we’ll be trio with our drummer, Sean Trischka.

“A great Irish songwriter and activist, Eoghan O’Ceannabháin, will be supporting me at the Dublin and Galway dates.”

Like many working musicians, Carsie runs a Patreon account where her fans can support her directly and, in return, they get additional work and new songs, for instance this past weekend she wrote a song on a drive, recorded the next day, and uploaded it. The song, The People vs. Elon Musk, quickly went viral.

Carsie is very enthusiastic about the model.

“Patreon is the number one best way to support my work. It’s a subscription model and I give my followers everything I create, just as soon as it’s finished and sometimes, even sooner!

“For an artist like me, much of the music business is not strictly ‘profitable’. I’m independent, which means there isn’t a moneyed corporation investing in my work. I have a band whom I love and rely on creatively, which means touring usually just breaks even — that’s when we can tour.

“Most of my listeners will never buy one of my CDs or vinyl records, and streaming services pay a fraction of what radio once did. For years, I tried to sell out, but nobody was buying!”

The Patreon funding arrangement has settled well for Carsie.

“These days, I’m a lot happier, because I understand how this job works: the people who love my work are the people who make it possible.

“I am blessed to be 100% supported by my fans via Patreon and Bandcamp. The beauty of this arrangement is clear to me now: I make stuff I love, and send it straight to people’s ears. If you love it, you send me some money.

“I get to be just as weird and radical as my little heart desires, and they get to hear what I’m working on, and know that they are making it all possible. It’s a kind of spiritual mutual aid.”

Carsie Blanton plays De Barras, Clonakilty on April 25; Coughlans on Douglas Street on April 27; The Richmond Revival, Fermoy, on April 29; and The White Horse in Ballincollig on May 3. For details, see carsieblanton.com.