Mo McMorrow is a well-traveled whirlwind of creative energy. In song, this energy translates to a nuanced brand of Celtic-Americana led by beautiful vocal melodies, a voice of honey and steel, steeped in transatlantic themes of place and ancestry.
After growing up and studying in Toronto, Mo moved to her parents’ birthplace, Australia (1991), to finish post-grad studies in painting. In 1996 she set off again to travel around the world. First stop was a week in Ireland. She stayed 11 years! It was there she honed her musical craft as a solo performer and then in a duo with Mary Shannon (of the Sharon Shannon Band). In 2008 she headed for Austin Texas the Mecca for songwriters. She recorded two CDs “Mona Lisas Don’t Cry” 2010 and “Hangin’ on a Nail” 2013. All Mo’s travels lends a remarkable depth to her music. The cadences of Austin and Ireland are evident and one could as easily imagine these sounds spilling out of a smoky club in south Austin as drifting out of a centuries-old pub in Ireland. Lyrically, positive lessons of independence and self-reliance rise from the ashes of past relationships. A reverence for land and family is perhaps a plank in the bridge between Ireland and Texas and a key element to McMorrow’s universe. Her songs are both deep and relatable at the same time.
Mo is a passionate and entertaining performer, sparkling with life. One moment disarmingly funny, the next she’s flying you out to the stars to look down at our planet with a full heart. She lives full-time on the road playing at festivals, pubs, house concerts, and on the streets.