Carey Marshall continues to develop as a singer-songwriter while becoming more and more confident in herself. “It is an accomplishment to take nothing and make something,” she says. Photo: Fawn & the Flame
Twenty years ago, Minnetonka-based singer-songwriter Carey Marshall had no idea she could sing. It must have been kismet when, at 30, she picked up a guitar and discovered her passion. Now, at 50, she celebrates the release of her second album, Year of the Locust, grounded in rediscovery and resilience.
As she began to write songs in her early 30s, Marshall’s newfound creativity became a solace as she navigated divorce and became a single mom to four boys. “In the beginning, I used [songwriting] as a diary,” she says. “It became really cathartic … sometimes, I would pick up a guitar, and a song would just pour out of me.” Encouraged by friends, Marshall performed her first show at a local coffee shop in 2006. It netted positive reinforcement from audience members and started to lift her confidence. “I didn’t know if anyone would ever want to listen to me, so getting feedback was really encouraging,” she says.
A chance encounter further pushed Marshall to believe in her talent. While working at a chiropractic office, a patient asked for recordings of her music. She was shocked to hear back from him a few days later. “He gave me a check for thousands of dollars … All he wanted [in return] was a copy of my first album,” Marshall says. His faith propelled her. “I had always wanted to make an album, but it’s super expensive. It wasn’t even on my radar,” she says. Marshall’s first EP, Distant Lands, was made possible in 2015.
Marshall began investing in her dream, forming her band Fawn & the Flame that same year. Over the next decade, she performed on larger stages and in front of larger crowds. “I struggled with stage fright so badly,” Marshall says. “So the more I played, the more comfortable I got, and I just kept writing and writing and writing.”
Ten years later, in September 2025, Marshall’s second album was released. It reflects her process of learning to let go and love again, fulfilling a full-circle journey of survival and freedom through ethereal pop and tender acoustic melodies. Every song was written 13 years ago, and Marshall says that while they reflect a period of pain as she left her marriage, the album also conveys hope.
Photo: Jesse Wallender
One of her favorite album-related memories includes listening to it with one of her sons right before its release: “We sat outside on the porch and were immersed in every song … [watching] him understand what went into it and understanding the stories was a really cool moment,” she says.
Believing in herself is a skill Marshall had to hone while also fine-tuning singing and songwriting. Now, in a new marriage and working as a life coach and a worship pastor, Marshall has found herself in the bright future she hoped for. “It is an accomplishment to take nothing and make something,” Marshall says. While the sentiment references her songwriting, it also applies to overcoming a dark period in her life—bringing forward “a lot of hope for the future.”
Listen to Year of the Locust on Spotify or Apple Music, or visit fawnandtheflame.com.
Fawn & the Flame
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