Courtney Yasmineh’s newest release, Red Roses and Cowgirl Dreams, is out July 29! She’s celebrating with an outdoor show in Wolfe Park in St. Louis Park with her full band. The album is great. The show is free, all ages and going to be awesome.
We got a chance to Courtney in the old WMCN studio before the world change; she spoke to her on Feb 22, 2020. We learned so much about Courtney’s transition from Chicago to Northwoods to Macalester College to music to family to where she is now, an active popular musician and novelist in the Twin Cities and beyond!
Courtney’s new material has an authenticity of someone who reached a point of trusting in herself, the people around her (musicians and other) and her audience. Fun to hear the back story of The Creek and the impact her son had it driving Courtney to reshape it. And to hear how so many songs connect with Courtney’s personal story but also her sense of place. Of being one of the first people in Minnesota to get COVID 19, or living close to the civil unrest after the murder of George Floyd. Of bringing in the images of today and the history of yesterday.
Courtney talked about coming to recognize the impact of being a woman in the music field, with a harrowing story with the dismissive remark that many of us of a certain age use, “it wasn’t really that bad” although her experience was bad enough to set up a barrier around her true calling as c songwriter and singer. Part of that is helping to be a model to sing songs that lift of women of all ages and through her performance and talent help people see that women are viable and attractive at all ages.
Mostly Minnesota 