Waiting For A Chinook

Cary Morin’s All-New Album Innocent Allies Draws Heavily From The Art Of Famed Western Painter Charles M. Russell

This record is a masterpiece worthy of its place among the great works of art it was created to honor

Indigenous guitarist and songwriter taps Grammy-winner Trina Shoemaker for new LP; Out now

January 26, 2024 - Fort Collins, CO - “Situations depicted in his paintings that might not be obvious to some are subtle cultural or ritualistic details,” says Award-winning, “Native Americana” fingerstyle guitarist and songwriter Cary Morin of the overarching inspiration for his new album: the famous Western artist Charles M. Russell. “As an Indigenous artist, I bring a perspective to this aspect of Charlie's work by way of this body of songs,” says Morin who released his collection of Russell-inspired stories, Innocent Allies, today. Morin is also quick to note that Charlie Russell was a friend to the Plains Tribes, concerned with the destruction of Native culture and portraying Native Americans in his paintings with a dignity that was largely absent from other artists’ portrayals of the time.

From the album-opening “Big Sky Sun Goes Down” which was inspired by a host of Russell’s paintings like When The Land Belonged To God, Salute To The Robe Trade, Piegans, and more; to “Indian Hunters Return” which drew from only one piece of art from which the name was drawn; to the joyful closer, “Montana Sky,” which came about in a co-write with Nashville songwriter D.L. Duncan after Morin explained the concept of his latest project, the whole of Innocent Allies reflects Morin’s love for Russell while blending in his own experiences in Great Falls, Montana, where Russell lived and worked. “This record is a masterpiece worthy of its place among the great works of art it was created to honor,” says Trina Shoemaker, the Grammy-winning producer who mixed and mastered the album at her Alabama studio.