Marian's profile

Marian McLaughlin is a multi-instrumental songwriter, poet, visual artist, and educator. Her immersive walks in the woods are full of observational moments that lead to meditative reflections in her music, poetry, and art. Guided by intuition while honoring imagination, her music embodies a peaceful atmosphere, pairing arpeggiated fingerpicking with contemplative lyrics. Starting with a stream-of-consciousness approach, her songs and poems develop body and structure while exploring aspects of wordplay, rhythm, and etymology.

Her curiosity and gratitude towards nature moves her to create and she hopes that her work reminds others of nature’s abundant offerings.  She works from a place of respect, recognition, and reflection. Nature is a healing force, and she takes part in that restorative energy through reciprocity. By tending to the land physically and spiritually, McLaughlin hopes to learn its songs and create her own through music, art, and poetry. 

Her most recent album, Lake Accotink, is an environmental song cycle about humanity’s multifaceted relationship with nature. Overwhelmed by ongoing ecological issues, Marian began working on Lake Accotink as a way to to process the effects of progress. Throughout this lyrical journey, she observes humankind’s gradual impact on the environment, nods to the ebb and flow of interconnection and impermanence, and celebrates the beauty of existence. 

She initially brought visual art into the fold with her music by including her drawings and collages in her album art and performance fliers. Then, McLaughlin became fascinated with “crankies” after seeing artists share these illustrated, kinetic stories on scrolls. McLaughlin created her first crankie as to compliment one of her songs, and has made crankies for all occasions since. She is currently brainstorming a series of educational crankies to promote environmental awareness and appreciation. On top of that, she is working on a collection of illustrated poems about insects, highlighting their intriguing features and contributions to ecosystems. McLaughlin is also developing a series of drawings about wildlife in the Chesapeake Bay area, specifically focusing on Baltimore’s riparian park, Herring Run.

McLaughlin’s other self-released studio albums are Spirit House and Dérive. She is currently working on her fourth album, Alcove. McLaughlin was a Strathmore Artist in Residence, performed an NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert, and toured the United States and the UK. She has performed with various ensembles, including a showcase at the Kennedy Center's Millennium Stage and a live session for WTMD's Baltimore Hit Parade. 

She has worked as a Teaching Artist with Young Audiences since 2017, integrating art and music into classrooms through their Summer Arts and Learning Academy. After curating and hosting events through the Holy Underground Arts Collective for half a decade, she continues to bring people together to experience pop-up art events presented by Hummingbird Productions, evening during a pandemic.

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