Today at Concordia University, we had the chance to sit down with celebrated Canadian folk singer and songwriter Martha Wainwright as she reflected on her extraordinary life in music.
Known for her unmistakable voice, fearless honesty and deeply personal songwriting, Martha spoke about the journey behind her seven critically acclaimed studio albums, the realities of growing up in one of Canada’s most famous musical families and the experiences that have shaped her both on and off the stage.
She also opened up about her memoir, Stories I Might Regret Telling You, a candid and revealing look at family, love, motherhood, ambition and the complicated beauty of a life lived in music.
We were so lucky to capture an interview following her presentation, offering an even more intimate glimpse into the woman behind the songs.
Watch the video below and discover more about the remarkable Martha Wainwright.
- How do you write your own songs?
“Well, it’s funny because I’ve always written songs by myself because I am shy. Like, if I’m at home writing a song and somebody comes in, I stop right away. Or if there’s lyrics written on a piece of paper, I close the book so nobody sees it, because I don’t know if it’s shy, but I’m kind of embarrassed. I want it to be, you know, done before I present it. And sometimes when I’m writing, when I don’t do this as much, but definitely early on and in my 20s, when I was playing more, I would play, you know, four, five, six hours a day. You know, when you’re starting, I don’t do that anymore. But when I’m starting and playing, and I would maybe have, you know, four or five different songs that I was writing at once and work on them. And then if I had a show maybe the next night or something, I would sit in the room and look to the corner and perform the songs without stopping to say, okay, is this ready?”
2. How did you find your way to your voice and to the way that you sing?
“For me folk singing in the family, you know, this idea of blending your voice and the way siblings sound when they’re singing together. And one of the things that was my mother used to stand behind us me and when we would sing in harmony and she’d pull my hair a little bit if I got the note wrong. It was also about blending in and not necessarily doing little trills that we want to do, like, you know, making that sound. And then when you had the opportunity to, you know, maybe you’re going to do your own song at some point in the living room or at a folk festival or something, then that was your moment to, you know, kind of dig down into your. Your feelings and your thoughts and try and connect with. Connect with the person inside of you. We’re really going between trying to stand out with your voice and, you know, get some air time in a group of people that really. So you really did have to sort of stand out in some way in some moments, but then also serving the music and, you know, closing your eyes or, you know, doing the backup part or finding the sound and letting the music be more important really than anything.”
3. What advice did you remember from childhood?
“My mother gave me advice on, you know, buy a house early on, you know, whatever. Whatever her advice was. And it’s funny, because I don’t know if they apply as well to the world now of algorithms and social media, because I do find myself like, am I able to apply what I know about how to make a living and how to have some security onto this new way of really being, staying famous and being known, just breaking through and breaking through in any way? And so that’s, you know, why. Also, it’s, you know, I mean, I have a manager who posts for me because I’m not good at it. I try and make sure that people, you know, he tries to make sure that people, you know, can take videos of me backstage to try and keep that up. So there is a certain amount because I do feel uncomfortable.”
