Battle with booze leads to a late start for Mary Gauthier

MARY GAUTHIER has been described by The Wall Street Journal as “one of Americana music’s most admired artists — across the U.S. and...around the world.” The 53-year-old, Louisiana-born singer and songwriter will play five shows in Ireland in May.

Her current album, her eighth, is titled Trouble & Love. What is remarkable about Gauthier is that she didn’t begin to write songs until she was in her 40s.

“I wasn’t ready, I wasn’t mature enough,” she says. “I had a drug and alcohol problem that I needed to deal with. I had to grow up. I had to get certain things sorted in my life.”