Getting along with Mean Mary and the Contrarys

Nashville’s multi-talented Mean Mary returns to White Horse Black Mountain on Saturday, May 12 at 8 p.m. Already a White Horse favorite as a solo artist, for this performance she’ll be in the company of her band, The Contrarys. Tickets are $12 advance, $15 advance.

Despite the name, the band are in accord in serving up energetic original music, combining the emotional directness of folk and bluegrass with the energy of rock and blues. The Contrarys are David Larsen and Allen “Mr Nella” Marshall on bass and guitar.

Mary herself, meanwhile, plays just about anything with strings, while delivering her songs in a rich voice that travels from deep emotion to sparking trills.

Mean Mary’s sobriquet belies an upbeat, easygoing personality. She started out as a musical prodigy, reading music before she could read words and co-wrote songs at age five. By age seven she was proficient on the guitar, banjo, and violin, and entertained audiences across the U.S. with her vocal and instrumental skills. Her life has been one long road show interspersed with TV, radio, and film work. She is also a prolific songwriter, novelist, and the fun-loving star of Nashville TV show, "Never-Ending Street." 

Her personal web page, meanmary.com, is a highly entertaining site for brilliantly told recollections of her amazing life story, including a childhood spent partially off-grid, as well as harrowing wildlife encounters and gritty recovery from a potentially career-ending injury.