Maren Morris was 9 months pregnant the last time she graced RodeoHouston's Star Stage and she stole the hearts of everyone in the audience while secretly fearing she'd go into labor on stage. In 2020, she belted out hit after hit and the crowd latched on to every word. Things were no different two years later!
Backstage, one of the first questions I asked Maren was about Hayes and whether he'd made it to his second RodeoHouston. Maren said he was with the grandparents but she did bring husband Ryan Hurd along for the experience. They were fresh off an appearance at the ACM Awards in Las Vegas and Maren was still in full fashion mode.
She was jaw dropping from the first step out of the dressing room as she donned a Selena-esque styled jacket full of sparkled fringe, Spanish flare and palm trees on the sleeve as an ode to Ryan Hurd's single " Palm Trees in Ohio" with an all black corset and black striped pants.
Maren remarked about the many National Anthems she had performed over the years at Rodeos around the country prior to her breakout days in Nashville. She felt at home in the RodeoHouston arena and her sights were set on a knockout performance and the release of her brand new album "Humble Quest," set for a March 25th release.
I asked the talented singer songwriter if Humble Quest was the name of a song on the album or just a title that identified the theme of the album, "It's both. It's about me finding my humility and being humbled by the world's recent events. The pandemic, my son being born at the beginning of COVID, my marriage, my friendships, it's all of these things that really humbled me in the last two years."
40 minutes later, in front of tens of thousands of fans, she'd kick off her show with her first single from the new album "Circles Around This Town" which received incredible accolades from it's initial release. The single flew up the streaming and radio charts faster than any of her previous releases. She told us what the song meant to her, "It's autobiographical, it's about my journey from Texas to Tennessee nine years ago when I moved to Nashville to be a songwriter. It documents that grind of being nobody and having no money and trying to schlep your way into this very competitive songwriting business and music industry. So it's really about chasing down your dream even if you're not a musician I feel the message behind the song is relatable to anyone with a day dream they want to make a reality. So even when you reach the mountain top you're still chasing that target because it's your passion, no matter what."
From the depths of songwriting and relatability we turned the conversation to something true to Texas, Whataburger. The last time she posted about leaving Texas she had a bag of WB in the plane seat next to her so I had to know what was in the bag! "I love the honey butter chicken sandwich/biscuit. I also think the fries and the spicy ketchup is genius. We just got a Whataburger in Nashville! There is a line but I'll wedge my way in there!"
There no room for doubt when poised with wonder on how much Maren's fans love her. One look around the RodeoHouston arena and you knew you were at a Maren Morris Show as the World's Largest Rodeo was turned into the World's Largest Girls Night Out. Her fans were dressed to the 9's and anxious to see their Country Music Queen take the stage! Before we wrapped the interview, I asked Morris what message she'd like to send to the fans who show up for her every day, she replied: "I want to say thank you for being with me and sticking with me from the get go. And to the new fans, I'm honored you're here along for the ride and thank you for allowing me to live out this dream and take care of my band over the last few years in such an uncertain touring time. My fans helped buoy me and I'll forever be indebted to them for that."
Maren would go on to put on one of the most memorable performances of the 90th Annual RodeoHouston. Her new album "Humble Quest" will be available March 25th wherever you get your music and you can hear "Circles Around This Town" every day on The Bull.