Boneyard Mary Garnett Edwards
Mary Garnett Edwards has spent more than five decades turning her own life into song, and her raw, raspy new single "Boneyard" stands as one of her most haunting works yet. Out now, the track pulls listeners into a money scarce, small town world of poverty, broken trust, and a rage filled ending that closes with a hanging, with Edwards crying out lines like "I walk the road as the moon shines bright, I hear the spirits in the forest night, I feel my knees they are a quiver." It is a performance built on grit, and one that finds Edwards, born in Edmonton and now based in North Vancouver, working at the height of her storytelling powers.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3n8otW0TsoI
"Boneyard" was produced by Andreas Schuld, one of the most recorded guitarists in Canada, whose credits include work with Long John Baldry and his own project Schuld & Stamer. He is joined on the track by a formidable lineup of Canadian musicians: Pat Steward, known for his work with Bryan Adams and The Odds, on kick drum; Stu MacDonald, whose credits include Crawfish Fiesta and Sue Leonard, on acoustic bass; Gord Maxwell, who has played with Chilliwack and One Horse Blue, on background vocals; and Nashville's Chas Williams, who has recorded with David Gates and Nanci Griffith, on dobro. The track was recorded at Studio Downe Under in Abbotsford and Coa's Hideaway in Maple Ridge, with Soren Lonnqvist and Schuld behind the board, and serves as the latest single from Edwards's upcoming eight song album 'Madhouse.'
Listen on Spotify here: https://open.spotify.com/track/1CTeYsgKxWhR6TMciOvd3B
Edwards's musical story began at the age of ten, when she started singing, playing guitar, and writing her first songs. By twelve, her mother brought her to the Barricade Coffee House in Edmonton, where she performed her original material, a start that carried her through open mic nights at Vancouver venues including the Classical Joint, Soft Rock Cafe, and Kits House after her move to the coast. In the early seventies, she recorded with songwriter and lead guitarist Doug Mix at Psi Chord Studio, and was part of the original rock band Breeze, where Mix paired her with vocalist Tasi Sharpe to create a sound built on hard hitting vocals and tight harmonies.
Those early sessions with producer Robin Spurgin, founder of Psi Chord Studio, would go on to shape the rest of Edwards's career in an unexpected way. After her husband Doug Edwards, known for his work with Skylark and Chilliwack, passed away from cancer in 2016, Mary rediscovered the original tracks Spurgin had recorded years earlier and decided it was time to sing them again. That rediscovery led to 2019's 'White Lightning,' a thirteen-song album produced by Andreas Schuld and recorded with Soren Lonnqvist, featuring "Robin's Song," written for her longtime friend, along with three songs by Vancouver songwriter John Holbrook. The album's track "I Had a Dream" was later featured in the award-winning documentary The Circle of Eagles.
Check it out on Bandcamp: https://marygarnettedwards.bandcamp.com/track/boneyard
Across a discography that includes 'Street Spirits,' recorded with Dan Morrow, and 'Garnett Edwards First Stone,' recorded with Doug Edwards in 1997, Edwards has built a body of work defined by honesty and hard-won experience. "Boneyard" continues that tradition, pairing her weathered voice with a story of desperation and consequence that feels pulled straight from the small towns she sings about.
With 'Madhouse' now taking shape and more singles on the way, Mary Garnett Edwards shows no signs of setting down her pen. She has spent a lifetime turning grief, hardship, and hard truths into song, and "Boneyard" proves that well runs as deep as ever. For Edwards, music has always been where the darkest stories get told, and where she keeps finding the next one worth singing.
https://marygarnettedwards.com/
