It’s mere hours after presidential candidate Kamala Harris’s rousing acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, and Rosanne Cash can’t hold in her emotions. “I’m beside myself with excitement,” the legendary singer/songwriter tells Cincinnati Magazine. “Just the commitment to address gun violence, climate change, and women’s reproductive freedom has me all in.”
And while Cash admits that she is absolutely thrilled by the possibilities that might await us all in the next few months, chances are she won’t share those sentiments when she takes the stage at Memorial Hall on August 27 alongside her six-time Grammy winning producer, husband, and longtime collaborator John Leventhal.
“I generally stay away from getting into politics from the stage,” explains Cash, daughter of the late Johnny Cash. “People of all stripes use their discretionary income to come see me perform and to hear live music, so I’m careful and respectful. Having said that, I think 99 percent of the people who come to see me know I’m a progressive and an activist for gun control. There are other forums for me to speak out, and I do.”
Nevertheless, the renowned singer-songwriter says the stage has become a place where she can be her complete self and feels comfortable in doing so. “If it’s possible to feel both more vulnerable and more in command, that’s where I am,” says Cash, who continues to celebrate the 30th anniversary of her landmark album The Wheel, which coincidentally was the first project she and Leventhal collaborated on. “Open heart, thick skin.”
She’s continued to develop thick skin over the course of a four-decade long career that’s included myriad milestones, including four Grammy Awards, her acclaimed memoir Composed and, in 2021, becoming the first woman to receive the Edward MacDowell Award for music composition. Yet Cash says she still deals with a tad of trepidation whenever she performs live in front of an audience.
“I’m still expanding,” she says. “Finding the depths of power and ability to ride the waves of uncertainty and see what’s there to learn in the unknown and unpredictable. Is the audience going to be with me, are my monitors going to fail, is my voice going to break, can I get out of my own way and let something flow between me and the audience? I’m not done with self-expression, and I’m certainly not done with wonder and awe.”
And with every new audience comes a time when Cash looks over to Leventhal and rides the waves that each crowd sends. “Taking the temperature and making minute adjustments is key,” she says. “Sometimes it’s not about changing the set list in the moment but about how to connect. It’s subtle. It’s about energy exchange.”
And she can’t wait to exchange some of that energy with her devoted fans in Cincinnati. “Cincinnati is a real music city,” she says. “People are sophisticated musically: informed and sensitive, open-minded, and willing to go with you wherever you take them. I’m excited to be back. It’s been a while.”
This tour helps celebrate the release of Leventhal’s debut album, Rumble Strip. The couple is also writing music for a Broadway production of the movie Norma Rae.
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