🎤 Maris Interview with BostonCentral | Boston Calling 2024
Favorite Music Icons, Honest Lyrics and Collab Dreams
Photo credit: Boston Calling | Taylor Hill
🎤 Maris Interview with BostonCentral | Boston Calling 2024
Favorite Music Icons, Honest Lyrics & Dream Collabs
Maris Maddux-Ward is a soulful, jazz-influenced contemporary pop singer/songwriter from Missoula, Montana. A middle child of five, she now lives in L.A. We caught up with her after her powerful Friday afternoon set on the Blue Stage at the 2024 Boston Calling Music Festival. She was spirited, honest, and a lot of fun!
🎶 Quick Chat with MARIS Before the Chappell Roan Set
BC: Hey Maris — thanks so much for taking a few minutes to chat. I saw your set earlier today and was really blown away by it.
Maris: Thank you so much! Omg, that was a total blast. We practiced that stage show together for two days over at Berklee College of Music. It was a lot of fun!
Photo credit: Boston Calling | Taylor Hill
BC: How would you describe your music to someone who’s never heard it before? Who are your musical influences?
Maris: Oh, I have a lot of eras. There was a time I was listening to a lot of 1950s big band slow jazz — and that heavily influenced the songs I was writing.
A lot of my current music is inspired by my tried-and-true icons: I love Queen, Prince, Whitney Houston, Cyndi Lauper… all these larger-than-life artists from a totally different age in music. It was a time when someone could really, truly be larger than life.
BC: OMG — you’re an old soul. I love it!
Maris: Haha, thank you! And lyrically, Amy Winehouse is a huge inspiration for me — just the candid honesty. Like, why even write if you’re not gonna capture the real stuff?
BC: That’s what I think your lyrics are — honest. That’s what people connect with in your music. At least for me, it’s the lyrics that hit home in such a vulnerable and genuine way.
Maris: Thank you! Sometimes I get embarrassed, like “oh my god, my lyrics are so insecure” — but that’s just the stuff I’m unpackin’ a lot of the time!
BC: That’s a good thing. Your songs make people feel validated — like, “Hey, I’ve felt that way too.”
Maris: It’s always been that way for me. Even when I was little, growing up in Montana — my dad lives in the middle of nowhere — I’d just walk around the yard singing to myself about whatever was going on in my life.
My parents got divorced when I was six, so I was writing heartbreak songs as a kid. That’s always been how I make space for my… you know, my feelings. I think I’m pretty sensitive, and day-to-day life can be a lot sometimes.
I carry a lot of tension, so music gives me a place to put all that. Honestly, when I first write a song, it’s for me. Like, if I don’t say this? I’m gonna explode. I’ll ruin my own life — I’ve got to find a place for these terrible feelings.
BC: YES!! You are my spirit animal on this — I think I need to take your advice!
Maris: For sure! Expression — even movement — it sets you free.
Photo credit: Boston Calling | Taylor Hill
🦎 On “Chameleon” and the Pressures of LA
BC: You sang a song called Chameleon in your set — is that yours?
Maris: Yes! It hasn’t been released yet.
BC: Okay, that explains why I couldn’t find it! It’s amazing — I’ve been searching for it ever since.
Maris: It’s coming out in September. That was just a sneak peek.
BC: It’s gorgeous. You sang it with every fiber of your being. What’s it about?
Maris: It’s about living in LA, and how hard it is. Feeling like you have to change to fit into this corporate idea of what a woman should be and look like.
You’re surrounded by beautiful people and wealth, and just trying to make it — but you’re up against what the world says you need to be as a woman, as a person. It’s a challenge to hold on to yourself. You’re constantly battling the urge to change or conform. That’s what the song is about.
💼 Life Off Stage & Dream Collabs
BC: How do you spend your time when you’re not making music?
Maris: I’m living in LA, so… trying to survive! I’m a budtender to pay the bills. I also love editing — I use CapCut! I actually edited all the images that played behind us on stage. That was really fun to put together.
BC: Are there any artists you’d love to collaborate with?
Maris: OMG — Queen!? I’d love to sing with Adam Lambert. Harry Styles? (Ha — ya know, why not go big!?) And Chappell Roan? Absolutely.
That’s all the time we had, as we needed to head over to catch the Chappell Roan set. No one expected just how crowded it would be — I was lucky to grab a spot on the Truly roof deck for a premium view above the fray.
On a personal note: I really connected with Maris and loved her music pretty much the moment I heard her sing. She is incredibly down to earth and open. I wish I had had more time to dish with her!
I'm excited to see where her career goes - and am especially looking forward to the upcoming release of her new song "Chameleon".
Currently I've got her following songs on heavy rotation:
Voicemail \ Going Yet! \ Chameleon \ Hot Guitar Guy
Blue skies ahead, Maris! Thanks for taking the time to chat. :)
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Stacey Sao has been the Managing Director of the family-friendly events and activities website, BostonCentral for well over 20 years. She continues to enjoy discovering and exploring new places to visit, performances and new music in the Greater Boston area.