Maria Gilhooley (néeKnight), who records under the name Marry Waterson, is a singer, songwriter and visual artist. A member of the Waterson-Knight-Carthy family musical dynasty, Waterson is described as having "thrived on communal music making while developing highly original and distinctly English performance styles of [her] own."[1]
Waterson is the daughter of Lal Waterson and George Knight and was born in the city of Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire.[2] She made her recording debut as a guest on the album A True Hearted Girl by Lal and Norma Waterson in 1977. In 1988 she formed an occasional singing partnership with her mother Lal, aunt Norma and cousin Eliza Carthy under the name The Waterdaughters.[3] She has since been a guest performer on numerous Watersons and Waterson–Carthy recordings and has often performed live with her family at festivals and special performances.
In January 2010, Waterson performed at the Sydney Opera House in a line-up of rock, punk, pop and folk musicians under the musical direction of Hal Willner as part of his Rogue's Gallery project.[5]
After signing to One Little Indian Records,[1] in 2011 Waterson released the album The Days That Shaped Me, co-written with her brother Oliver Knight.[6] The album was nominated for a Radio 2 Folk Award. During that year she both recorded and toured with her brother, billed as Marry Waterson & Oliver Knight.[1] A second album by the siblings, Hidden, was released in 2012.[7]
In October 2013, Waterson curated a tour with The Barbican bringing Bright Phoebus, by Lal and Mike Waterson, to the stage for the first time. She performed with a cast which included Jarvis Cocker and Richard Hawley amongst others. Also in 2013, Waterson designed and produced Teach Me to Be a Summer's Morning, a book and CD celebrating the works of Lal Waterson, released on the Fledg'ling Records imprint.
In 2015, Waterson released a third album, this time collaborating with guitarist David A. Jaycock, entitles Two Wolves.[8] This album, produced by Neill MacColl, featured performances by Kate St John and Kami Thompson, one song for which Waterson shared writing credit with her late mother Lal Waterson, and another which incorporated a recording of her late uncle Mike Waterson.[8]
One review of The Days That shaped Me, Waterson's first album with Oliver Knight, noted that the brother and sister "have thrived on communal music making while developing highly original and distinctly English performance styles of their own."[1] A review in The Independent called the album's songs "unadorned, sometimes courtly, always hard to read."[6] Robin Denselow, in reviewing Hidden for The Guardian, described Waterson's singing as "no-nonsense, sometimes deadpan, but effectively varied" and stated that the album "sounds better each time you play it."[7] Later reviewing Two Wolves for the website Freaky party, Denselow said that Waterson's "singing is plaintive and quietly powerful, and the songs are slow but varied".[8]
Waterson currently[when?] lives in Robin Hood's Bay, where she animates music videos, recently[when?] producing stage loops for Marc Almond. She has also worked as a graphic designer.[1] Previously she developed a successful practice as a sculptor, working largely in sandstone. Her work has been exhibited at numerous locations in Yorkshire and the northeast of England, and she has completed several commissions.[9]
