Interview: Molly O’Leary Talks About ‘Marigold’ & Mental Health Ahead of Show at Askew
There’s been a few stellar albums that have come out so far in New England, and this includes Marigold from singer-songwriter Molly O’Leary. The New Bedford native has a way of writing folk music that doesn’t sound too kitschy while at times exhibiting an amplified quality. They also have a knack for writing lyrics that are both introspective and relatable, which is a stellar combination. On May 31, O’Leary is going to be bringing their talents to Askew on 150 Chestnut Street in Providence as part of a double bill with the Boston folk-rock act The Wolff Sisters. The show starts at 8pm and it’s an ideal experience for anyone who enjoys some good old-fashioned Americana.
We had a talk ahead of the show about the making of their latest album, meeting, performing and hanging out with a couple of their favorite musicians and thoughts on being a fixture within the music scene of “The Creative Capital”.
You made Marigold in Nashville with country musician Will Hoge as the producer, so what was that entire experience like recording your music in a completely different city than where you’re from in New Bedford?
It was so great. I had done my first album in Westport, Massachusetts, which is near New Bedford, and that was also a great experience. Then in 2021, I opened up for Will in Boston and from there he asked if I would like to come out to Nashville so he could record & produce my next record. Obviously, I said “Yes”, so it was really cool. I went down there not this past February, but the February before, and it was myself and my lead guitarist John Fernandes.
We were in Nashville for a week and a half, and we worked 12-hour days for nine days in a row, which was really intense and really wonderful. We got a bunch of Nashville studio musicians on it, which was incredible to see the caliber of talent. They were incredibly kind, and they did a lot of work on the mixing over the summer, so we went back and did a couple touch-ups on some things. That’s kind of the gist of it, it was a really great experience.
Going back to when you met Will, he was co-headlining a show with Geoff Rickly from the New Jersey post-hardcore band Thursday. Each of you play different styles of music, so when the three of you were hanging out, which musicians and bands did you bond over?
That’s one of my favorite shows that I’ve ever played and experienced for so many reasons. I think the show was in April of 2022 and I remember in January of that year I got COVID, and I was really intensely sick, so I had to cancel all my gigs for a month, and I was so sad. When I started to come back from that and have the energy to get on my laptop, I emailed a bunch of places, and I was trying to book as many gigs as possible because I missed playing so much during the month when I was sick. One thing led to the next when I saw a flyer for the Will Hoge and Geoff Rickly show, I knew it was going to be a long shot, but I wanted to see if I could somehow open up for it. Will’s manager saw my email and he said, “Of course! You could open the show!”, which was really, really nice.
To answer your question, we definitely talked about Green Day. Green Day is one of my favorite bands and both Geoff and Will love them as well along with some other similar rock bands of that era. When I was a kid, I used to listen to Thursday as well, so it was really fuckin’ cool that I could open up for Geoff Rickly. When I was in high school, I got into one of Will Hoge’s popular songs called “Even If It Breaks Your Heart” and they both had been people I really looked up to, so we also talked about their music and the scenes they were in respectively.
Very cool, that’s awesome. The importance of mental health plays a big part in your songwriting and May happens to be Mental Health Awareness Month. With this being said, do you view your music as both a form of therapeutic catharsis for yourself and hopefully a sort of a panacea for whoever is listening?
Yeah. With the two albums I put out, I realized who I am as an artist and I kind of stumbled into being one who talks about mental health because that felt genuine for me. I also work as a therapist so the two really went hand in hand with me processing my own personal things and in the work that I do every day. I’m always thinking and talking about mental health and music often comes up as a tool so I kind of accidentally fell into music and mental health going hand in hand with it being kind of like my platform and what I really speak on. I work as a queer therapist for queer adults and queer youth, which has become a big part of my music and what I talk about at shows as well.
You’ve been playing a lot in the Providence scene, so how has this experience been for you so far as a musician coming from a different city and establishing your presence here?
I love Providence. I also went to college in Providence at Providence College, so I was already familiar with the city. When I was in college, I was personally having my own mental health struggles and I was still playing music, but I wasn’t able to take it as seriously due to the things that were going on in my life. In the past three or four years, I’ve been able to play so many shows and take it seriously and it feels so good. Providence specifically really has been a place that has lifted me up. Getting to meet Michael Panico who books at Askew and John Difruscio who owns Askew, the two of them have been so kind while giving me so many shows.
Michael has been a booker in the city for so long while knowing so many wonderful musicians and other people who book at different venues. He’s really taken this huge leap of faith with me, and he’s gone above & beyond when he doesn’t really need to. I’m incredibly grateful for him and the Providence scene.
Michael is great, him and John are both fantastic people. After this upcoming show at Askew, it’s going to be June already. With this being said, what are you looking to accomplish going into the second half of the year to follow-up the release of your new album?
I spent all of March on the road with Will Hoge and Justin Arena, who is another great artist from the area and that tour was really great. I love touring, so my goal is to do at least one more tour if not two later this year. It’ll be in the United States, I’m not sure the exact locations yet but I will post them when I know. I also have big aspirations to record the next record after I’m done promoting Marigold as hard as I can. I have so many new songs that I’m eager to start playing out and to record potentially again with Will.
I have some side projects that are exciting as well that are going to be with different artists for some split releases. There’s definitely a lot in the works.
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