Meet Christopher Morse | Singer/songwriter

We had the good fortune of connecting with Christopher Morse and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Christopher, can you tell us more about your background and the role it’s played in shaping who you are today?
I grew up on the East Coast, and my family bounced around a bit before landing in New Jersey, where I spent most of my childhood. Both of my parents are classical musicians, so music has always been a huge part of my life. I was also lucky enough to attend the American Boychoir School from 5th-8th grade, which was basically like Hogwarts for singing. It was a very serious classically based all boys choir, and I got to tour the country with them, had school on the bus, sang in Carnegie Hall, and performed with the New York Philharmonic many times. That experience threw me into the deep end of singing and then in high school I started learning guitar after hearing John Mayer’s first record – Room For Squares. That’s when I started writing my own music and with the foundation that the Boychoir gave me, I was able to start performing in college.

From there, I started playing up and down the East Coast from NYC down to Washington, DC in every coffee shop and bar I could find. I never released any music then, but that gave me a really solid foundation for how to perform on my own and navigate the world of booking shows and learning how to make things happen.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I’ll be releasing my 4th EP this spring, which is really exciting. I can’t believe how far my music has traveled up until now – I was featured on a radio station in Australia, and looking at the metrics from the streaming platforms and seeing that people from all over the world have hear my music is crazy. I’m really excited to see where these new songs will go, and I hope people enjoy listening to them as much as I’ve enjoyed writing and recording them.

It definitely hasn’t been easy. After getting laid off in April of 2023, with encouragement from my fiancee I decided to take the leap and pursue music full time. Every single day is a grind (reaching out to venues, writing, recording demos, content creation, networking, marketing/promotion, etc), but in a way it’s the easiest job I’ve had because I believe in what I’m doing. So although there are a lot of ups and downs – playing to a sold out crowd one night and then an almost empty room the next – the old saying, “if you love what you do you’ll never work a day in your life” is turning out to be true.

I’m incredibly grateful to be able to work as a musician and I couldn’t do it without the support of my fiancee. She’s had my back from the beginning and has pushed me to take risks that I might not have otherwise – and she’s been right every time!

I try to bring an element of hope to my music even if I’m writing about something sad. I’ve had some really hard times in my life – I was kicked out of my house as a teenager, slept on couches occasionally after college, and have struggled to put together a paycheck at times, but I’ve always had a sense of resilience that I would be able to make it to the other side. There’s a lot of darkness in the world, so even with my darker songs I try to give a sense of hope that there is light at the end of the tunnel

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Monday: RMNP and Estes Park with a visit to The Stanley Tuesday: Great Sand Dunes – we visited the Sand Dunes when we came through Colorado on tour with the Boychoir. I had never seen anything like it.
Wednesday: Hike Mt. Sanitas in Boulder and grab food on Pearl Street
Thursday: Brewery tour in the Boulder area – Twisted Pine and Wibby are my favorites
Friday: See a show at Roots Music Project
Saturday: Drive into the mountains for a hike or maybe skiing depending on the weather
Sunday: Lamar’s Donuts in Lafayette and a visit to Coot Lake in Gunbarrel

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
When I moved to Colorado, I put my guitar down for a bit and it wasn’t until I met the guys at Roots Music Project in Boulder that the spark came rushing back. I took some lessons from Rick Gabler to shake off the rust and work on a bunch of technical aspects of being an artist (guitar, vocals, songwriting). That gave me a ton of momentum and pushed me to record and release the Escape EP.

Since then, I’ve continued to be involved with what’s happening at Roots. I’ve played shows there, helped with workshops, and have started my own Songwriter’s Showcase called Songcraft, which happens on the first Tuesday of each month.

The support and knowledge that I’ve gotten from the people at Roots Music Project has been incredible. Everyone there is a musician and there’s a sense of “we’re all in this together”, which is so encouraging. Everyone pushes each other to be better, which is such an amazing thing to have as an independent musician.

Website: https://christophermorsemusic.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/christophermorsemusic/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ChristopherMorseMusic

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@christophermorsemusic

Other: https://linktr.ee/christophermorsemusic