Carsie Blanton
Carson Amanda "Carsie" Blanton (born July 22, 1985) is an American singer-songwriter based in New Orleans, who performs on guitar. Blanton has released six studio albums and three EPs, all with a "pay what you please" pricing strategy. Blanton wrote "My true calling as an artist is to share…What I actually want to do is make beautiful music and then give it to everyone, regardless of what they give me back". Gene Shay called her "one of the best singer/songwriters in the business." Blanton says she writes "a lot about sexuality and gender and a  little bit about politics as well." Early life. Carsie Blanton grew up on a former cattle farm in Luray, Virginia. She underwent homeschooling and her parents were hippies. She began taking piano lessons at age 6, and playing guitar and writing songs at age 13. In 2002, at age 16, Blanton went to live in a group house with other artists and musicians in Eugene, Oregon. In Eugene, she sang back-up vocals for a touring funk group, took up swing dancing, and started her first band, The Short Skirts. Career. Blanton recorded and self-released her first album "Hush  in 2002. Her first studio album Ain't So Green", produced by Steve Van Dam of Everything, followed in 2005. In 2006, Blanton relocated from Eugene to Philadelphia to pursue her music career full-time. She began working with manager Bill Eib (Amos Lee, Mutlu Onaral), and by 2007 she was playing over 100 live shows a year. In 2008, along with Jon Darvill, Blanton created Quidplayer, an embeddable "pay what you please" MP3 player and store. In 2010, Blanton performed live on NPR's nationally syndicated program, Mountain Stage, and opened for The Weepies, and Shawn Colvin. In February  2011, Blanton toured with Anaïs Mitchell's "Hadestown", playing the role of Head Fate. In November 2011, Blanton opened several shows on Paul Simon's "So Beautiful or So What" tour. In 2013, she ran a successful Kickstarter campaign to fund her album "Not Old, Not New", raising over $60,000. In 2019, she released "Buck Up", which Ken Tucker, reviewing the album for NPR's "Fresh Air", called "delightfully surprising". In 2021, she released "Love & Rage", an album of "anti-fascist anthems."