In 2009, Joy, a friend of my then girlfriend was visiting from Mexico City, and as we chatted about music, she mentioned she had just seen a young girl performing in a living room that I must listen to. Her name was Carla Morrison.
I listened to a couple songs on Carla’s Myspace and emailed her about doing an acoustic session the next time she visited Los Angeles, on the radio show I used to host. Turned out she would be in town a couple weeks later. Carla came on the show and shyly performed 3 acoustic songs that were hauntingly beautiful.
If you were a fan of the TV show Sons of Anarchy or watch Quantico, you’ve heard her music. If you are a fan of Julieta Venegas or Natalia Lafourcade, chances are you’ve heard her music and probably thought it was the aforementioned artists.
2 Latin Grammys, and a Grammy nomination later, Carla is still holding on strong to her indie cred. She released her third album, “Amor Supremo,” with her longtime indie label Cosmica to exceptional reviews and continues to gain bigger audiences.
Full disclosure, for the past 4 years, I have been Carla’s Tour Manager and have seen her grow both musically and as a presence on stage by leaps and bounds. I’ve witnessed her move crowds 20,000 deep in Mexico, astonish Coachella audiences at 2:30pm in the afternoon, and slay a room of 40 people in the Netherlands, up close and personal.
And honestly, I know I would still be singing her praises and writing about her music in this manner had I never worked with her, and was merely a fan. She is undeniably one of the sweetest sounding voices you will ever hear in any language.
She returns to Brooklyn as part of LAMC, to headline Celebrate Brooklyn at Prospect Park, July 9th alongside Hurray for the Riff Raff, and my personal fav, Buscabulla.
Proof that her hard work is paying off. The last time we had a proper show in Brooklyn, was in 2012, and she played to a room of about 70 people.
It’s amazing to see an indie artist grow and get the recognition that their music deserves.