maren morris, frank mcculley, goodwin, briley, eaton lake tonics

She has performed with Texas greats Tommy Alverson and Jack Ingram, and legends like Marty Stuart. She finished in the finals fo the B.W. Stevenson Songwriters' competition. Lloyd Maines played on her debut record. And she attended Grammy Camp this summer. Quite a resume for a girl who is only 15!

Maren Morris is anything but a typical teenager. During the week she is a sophomore at Bowie High School in Arlington. ON the weekends, she is part of the Texas music scene and the powerfrul voice behind the CD Walk On.

Maren got her start in music at the age of 10, singing around the campfire at the popular Larry Joe Taylor Music Festival. Scott Morris, Maren's father and manager, remembers that weekend well: "After Maren sang, people started coming up to us requesting her to sing at different events or venues. It all just took off from there."

She has been hailed as the next LeAnn Rimes - thought she's a more soulful, rootsy version who also writes most of her material. Being young, talented and female presents challenges: "Sometimes people don't take me seriously because of my age or are skeptical about booking a young girl to play their club. All I ask is to be given a chance to prove myself."

Despite obstacles, Maren's career continues to grow. Last October Maren recorded her debut album Walk On with Austin musician and producer Stephen Doster. She co-wrote eight of the ten tracks, showcasing her ability to sing and write everything from country to rock to blues. The title track that she co-wrote with Doster stands out as her favorite. "I wrote that song about the need to move on, not getting pigeon-holed in life." says Maren. The song will be featured in an upcoming independent film Sweetwater. "The song will be in the opening of the film. I am so excited to see my music in a movie," smiles Maren.

Having a song in a movie is exciting. Getting to go o Los Angeles and study with music industry greats like Grammy Award-winning producers David Foster and Jimmy Jam is the experience of a lifetime. Through her involvement with the Texas Music Project, Maren applied and was accepted to the first Grammy Camp. She joined 46 other high school students from around the country who came to gain first hand knowledge of what it takes to make it in the music business.

"we got to visit Capitol Records, met INXS and great producers like Foster. At the end of the week we got to perform the songs that we had written and recorded while at camp," says Maren. "The greatest thing was getting to meet other kids from around the country. I am the only kid I know around where I live who does this professionally, so it was neat to meet people who are doing similar things and learn their perspective. I still keep in contact with them and we all hope to go back next year."

She has found new inspiration to write, after coming home with an armload of songs written out in L.A. Asked what she is writing about lately, Maren says, "I like to write about what happened during the summer like crushes, that sort of thing."

Even at 15, she is honing her craft as a songwriter, striving to capture her life and the world around her and put it into song. "I go through periods where I don't write. It happens in spurts, " she admits. "I am not one of those people who writes every day. When an idea comes it just flows out of the pen. It comes really fast," says Maren.

On the album Maren also covers Buddy and Julie Miller's "Help Wanted," a favorite in her live sets, and the sultry "Barrelhouse Blues," written by Doster, Chris Layton and Tommy Shannon.

Walk On was released in October of last year, then re-released in June when Maren secured a national distribution deal that puts her CD in stores like Best Buy, next to her idols Norah Jones, Janis Joplin, Bonnie Raitt and Susan Tedeschi.

All of this would not be possible without her dedicated family. When parents Scott and Kellie are not running Maren Karsen Salon, named for her and her sister, they are actively involved in her career. Scott runs the business side of things and Kellie contributed lyrics to two of the songs on the album.

Says Scott, "She is just awesome. Maren is blasting past me on the guitar, and the way she can ad lib amazes me. It comes so natural to her that I have to believe that she has this God-given talent for a reason."

Maren's father and her loyal fan base aren't the only ones who recognize her talent. Major labels are starting to take an interest in her as well. As her father says, "No matter what happens, the goal has always been the same, to help her share her gift with as many people as possible.

Maren Morris' debut CD WALK ON (Mozzi Blozzi Records MBR 040101) is refreshing on several levels. The 14-year-old vocalist is out of Texas and there seems to be very little effort here to get her to grow up prematurely. Though her sound in still obviously young, it is also powerful. Maren herself wrote eight of the ten songs and she seems confident in her craft, though much of the material seems a bit too mature for such a young vocalist. As she conjures Bonnie Raitt, Natalie Maines and Emmylou Harris, you could almost swear she had already fully navigated heartbreak, poverty, rejection and all the other elements that make a good country-blues singer. 

But Maren hasn't even finished navigating puberty. The teenage prodigy brings attitude, sonic maturity and barroom grit to Barrelhouse Blues and Buddy & Julie Miller's Help Wanted. Her own songs are serious, too. Girl I See is about a young woman asking herself is she's good enough and Popular Girl is an anthemic reminder of how quickly a school girl can lose her dignity and reputation. Maren Morris has come a long way since her musical beginnings just four years ago. Singing, writing and playing guitar, Maren has gone from late-night campfire performer to respected artist at venues across Texas. She's won acclaim from respected producers, artists, venues and fans wherever she's seen and heard. One of these is Lloyd Maines, who plays pedal steel and Dobro on this record and is a big, big fan of the youngster.

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Bowie High School sophomore Maren Morris definitely has soul.

The evidence of this is not in the clothes she wears or how she behaves. It's in the songs she sings, and more and more people are listening.

Although she has performed professionally since age 10, the self-described country, rock and blues singer-songwriter-guitarist reaffirmed her love for the music business this summer. She received a full scholarship to attend the first Grammy camp, held this month at Citrus College in Glendora, Calif., near Los Angeles.

Morris, 15, of Grand Prairie, was the only North Texan to attend the nine-day camp, which gave 47 high school and early college-age students from around the country insight into the music business. Each teen-ager learned different aspects of the industry, such as singing-songwriting, music business and film-TV scoring. All participants performed in the camp's final showcase.

"I didn't realize how important it was until I was there," Morris said. "It was a lot better for me because there were other people that understand what I'm doing."

College faculty and various Grammy winners, nominees and staff educated the students on their chosen musical interests. Morris learned more about singing and songwriting. While there, she met professionals including David Foster, music producer and recent reality TV show star, R&B and hip-hop producer Jimmy Jam and Cheryl Bentyne of vocal jazz group The Manhattan Transfer.

Before attending the camp, Morris had performed onstage with country music stars such as the Bellamy Brothers, Marty Stuart and Jack Ingram.

Between singing in the choir and playing soccer at her school, she performs on weekends at clubs and bars in the Metroplex with her all-male band. She has also played venues in Austin, and is scheduled to perform during the State Fair of Texas in October.

That will mark the first anniversary of the release of her 10-track debut CD, Walk On, on the BMI label. It was recently picked up by a national distribution company.

Morris wrote eight of the songs on her debut album and said most of her inspiration came from life experiences or whatever was on her mind, to which she just added music.

The title track, Walk On, is one of her favorites and will be featured in the opening credits of a Texas independent film, Sweetwater.

The song talks about getting out of one place in life and moving forward.

Morris said she would like to have a music career, especially since attending the camp.

Grammy camp coordinator Matt Johnson said that all the students came in with tremendous talent but that Morris stood out because of her old-school country style.

"The best thing about Maren is she's a tiny bundle of soul," Johnson said. "That's something that can't be taught at Grammy camp or anywhere else. It comes from deep inside, and she has it."

The Texas Music Project, a nonprofit organization working to strengthen music communities and restore music education in schools statewide, provided Morris' scholarship to the camp. She has been a finalist for the project's "Texas 10 Under 20 Rising Star Showcase" for the past two years.

"She's making serious music, not powder-puff stuff," said Bruce Orr, Texas Music Project president and co-founder.

Morris said she still encounters people at the businesses where she performs who are skeptical of her abilities because of her age.

"They're not used to people as young as me playing in their clubs," she said. "You know, give me a chance."