Quick Q and A with Liz Carlisle
 by Kathy S-B  ·  31 March 2007

Tell us about the new CD you’re working on. How would you describe it?

My upcoming CD is titled Big Dreams, and it’s contemporary country with a fairly wide sampling of my influences: straight ahead pop-country, folk country, country-rock, classic country. Russell Wolff and I co-wrote most of the songs while touring to support Five Star Day, and we recorded it in Nashville with a great group of session players. It’s coming out this summer.

What’s it like working with Russell Wolff? It seems like you two have a terrific time collaborating on your projects.

It’s great. We’ve been working together for about four years now, and it’s still just as intense and exciting as ever. We have such different backgrounds and approaches, so there are no assumptions #8217; when we’re writing or on when we’re on stage. It’s really an active collaboration the whole time, and I think that keeps both of us on our toes creatively. I always particularly enjoy Russell’s sense of humor.

How did it feel singing the National Anthem in front of 72,000 at Gillette Stadium this past fall?

Amazing. Boston really knows how to get excited about a local sporting event. It was a rush to be a part of that — right down there on the field.

What’s been the reaction to your Harvard thesis being on-line? It’s quite a tome and very enlightening for Falcon Ridge devotees and those who have yet to experience a multi-day folk festival.

I’ve really enjoyed getting comments back about my thesis from other Falcon Ridge attendees. It’s become somewhat of an ongoing conversation, rather than just a fixed document, which is what I hoped for when I put it online. I think there’s a bit of an anthropologist in all of us, and when we turn that eye towards a community we’re involved in, I think it can provide interesting insights, and maybe even help us lead richer lives.