Introduction
Cary Morin is an American singer, songwriter, and musician. Dockside Saints, released in 2021, peaked at #7 on the Roots Music Chart and he won an Independent Music Award and Indigenous Music Awardfor Best Blues Album, among other awards.His songs were featured in Resident Alien and Earl Biss - The Spirit Who Walks Among His People, among others.He has performed at the Lincoln Center, The Kennedy Center, the Vancouver Olympics, Paris Jazz Festival, and has toured the US and internationally.
Early life
Cary Lewis Morin was born in Billings, Montana. His father was an Air Force officer and his mother, Anita (née Yellowtail) Morin was an artist. He is the grandson of Robert Yellowtail.He is a Crow tribal member and Assiniboine man.He took piano lessons as a child and played in local country, rock, and bluegrass bands as a teenager.He taught pottery workshops as a senior studio student at CMR High School and graduated from high school in 1981.After graduating he formed a 3-piece dance band, The Atoll, who were featured on Denver's KMGH-TV as the "Best of Colorado".
Career
Cary Morin is a singer, songwriter, and musician who is known for his acoustic picking style. His musical style has been characterized as roots-infused Native Americana with hints of bluegrass, folk, blues, and rock. In addition to being a solo artist he is in the Cary Morin Duo as well as being a member of the band, Cary Morin & Ghost Dog, both which include his wife, Celeste Di Iorio. He is a former member of the Pura Fé Trio, The Atoll, and the Young Ancients.His musical influences have been cited as Neil Young, Bob Marley, and Jimi Hendrix.
Morin received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Fort Collins Music Association and has received Fellowship awards from First Peoples Fund and the National Artist Fellowship.
He has toured the US, Japan, Belgium, France, Germany, the UK, Italy, Spain, and Switzerland as well as performing at the Vancouver Olympics, Paris Jazz Festival, Folk Alliance International, and the Kerrville Folk Festival. Morin performed as part of Pura Fé Trio whose stage credits also include Tribe at the Celebrity Theater and well as co-authoring Turtle Island, a 50-member production that played two consecutive years to sold-out audiences in Northern Colorado.
Awards
- 2014 - Colorado Blues Society - Best Male Vocals, Best Songwriter
- 2015 - Colorado Blues Society - Best Solo/Duo
- 2017 - Indigenous Music Awards - Best Blues Album - Cradle to the Grave
- 2018 - Independent Music Awards - Best Blues Album - Cradle to the Grave
- 2019 - Indigenous Music Awards - Best Blues Album - When I Rise
- 2019 - Telly Awards - Best Branded Music Content (Bronze winner)
- 2019 - Telluride Blues Challenge - Blues Challenge Winner
- 2020 - NPR Music's Best Live Sessions of 2020
Discography
- 1993 - Dream Marquee. Live at Lindens feat. The Atoll
- 1998 - Acoustic Turtle Island
- 2012 - Sing it Louder
- 2013 - Streamline
- 2014 - Tiny Town
- 2015 - Fishstory (The Young Ancients)
- 2016 - Together
- 2017 - Cradle to the Grave
- 2018 - When I Rise
- 2020 -Dockside Saints
- 2024 - Innocent Allies