"Born into the confines of Canyon Country, broken through in the Northwest’s emerging enclave, and currently carving out her own niche in Nashville, Mac Cornish embraces all the parts of her journey as she approaches her songwriting. Growing up surrounded by the Santa Cruz mountains, Cornish spent her youth under the canopy of the Redwoods and exploring the expanses of her grandfather’s cattle ranch in the North Bay. Early years found her drawn to the voices that had emanated from the Laurel Canyon legends, cementing a deep love for Linda Rondstadt, Joan Baez, and Gram Parsons. Though she’s boxed her belongings more than a few times in pursuit of country’s muse, her roots in the California mountains remain a constant part of her songs, tracing the ‘70s maturation of West Coast folk a into a proper patina of Americana. No matter how far she travels, there’s always a hint of the salt air, pine, and North Bay dirt in Mac’s songs, a coastline that she carries with her no matter where she goes.

Decamping to Portland rather than making a straight dash for Music City, Cornish quickly found herself ensconced in the city’s burgeoning country scene. While the Northwest isn’t always identified as a hub for the genre, those attuned to the underground know that there’s a groundswell of new voices taking shape under the cover of overcast skies. In rotation with a slew of other artists balancing day jobs with weekends on stage at the Landmark and the LaurelThirst, Cornish began work on her debut album, Never Made Much of a Lover. The record bundles the confessional approach of her Canyon Country North Stars with a deep well of personal turmoil; digging into death, family, pain, and the mounting pressures of societal expectations. Far from easy odes to late nights and bar lights, Lover positions Cornish as the kind of songwriter looking to stretch the sinews of the soul, wrestling with demons and dark corners, but packed with a catharsis that cleanses the listener.

The record’s release closed a door on her days in Portland, capping off her tenure with a sold out farewell at the LaurelThirst. The crowds spilling into the streets served as a stark contrast to her open-mic early days, sending her on her way towards Nashville with a full heart and a bittersweet smile. With the move to Tennessee, Cornish chases the spirit of country into one of the genre’s vital nerve centers. Already finding her place among the city’s transplants and session stalwarts, she shakes off her past without forgetting it. Immersed in the aura of the city, Mac brings a touch of introspection to Nashville’s vision of country, wrestling with the connotations of sobriety, serenity, and solace among the constant hum of stages that never settle.

As a parting gift from Portland, she cut one last song with her longtime Northwest band, choosing to cover Danny O’Keefe’s opus, “The Road,” made popular by another one of Mac’s California touchstones, Jackson Browne. The song, a lament to the pitfalls of touring life, began to resonate with Cornish over time, revealing more of its truth with each lap she made around the stage. The song is emblematic of Cornish’s own works, rooted in folk, but simmered in the sins and stains of country. The band gives the ‘70s staple a modern revision, retaining the cut’s sorrow while dressing it a kind of grace that separates it from the original. The cut serves as a bridge between her Northwest successes and those that lie ahead. The next chapter for Mac remains unwritten, but boundless, a California castaway bringing a little sea air to the sights and sounds of country’s beating heart."

-Andy French (Raven Sings the Blues)