Tucson native Lisa Morales was flat out tired in late 2020.
Tired of the pandemic. Tired of the division in the country. Tired of the hatred and racism and all the chaos being sown in all arenas of life.
So the Austin singer-songwriter snuck away for five days to Taos, New Mexico, and spilled out all her angst and anxiety in a song called “Freedom.”
“The politics had gotten so heavy from both sides of the aisle and I was done with it,” recalled Morales, who grew up in Tucson with big sister Roberta before the pair moved to San Antonio, Texas, to pursue music as Sisters Morales. “It’s about loving each other again and being kind. No more racism. We just totally turned upside down.”
“It exploded out of me because I just couldn’t believe. I mean, families were torn apart. I grew up with Republicans and Democrats in my house so we learned to speak to one another and converse. Have a difference of opinion and it’s OK,” she said. “But this went beyond that. I was trying to understand how we could get so far away from what is right and meeting in the middle. It still is either my way or the highway on both side. We are not getting anything done and we are not being kinder to one another. It’s not OK.”
“Freedom” is about kindness and setting aside differences and coming together as one. Loving one another like a mother loves a child and calling out injustices when we see them.
“It’s not OK for the Asian hate. It’s not OK for Black racism. Oh my gosh. Really, we’re still there? I hope everybody hears me.”
The song, which came out on Nov. 5, is the first single off her third solo album “She Ought to be King,” which will be released next summer. She tapped some heavy hitters on the song, including Grammy-winning singer-songwriter David Garza as producer and Gregg Rolie of Santana fame to play organ and sing backup.
They recorded the album at the famed and isolated Sonic Ranch Recording in tiny Tornillo, Texas, population 1,105, according to the latest census.
Morales said she has performed “Freedom” a couple of times live in recent moths as the country is opening back up following about 18 months of nationwide venue shutdowns due to the COVID-19 pandemic. On Saturday, Nov. 13, she will perform it at home in Tucson at the Club Congress Plaza. It will be her first time home since she returned to Tucson in September for her sister Roberta’s funeral. Roberta died of cancer on Aug. 1.
“I love coming home. There’s just a comfort zone about it,” she said. “It’s nice to see family and it’s nice to get the hugs you need.”
But Morales admitted it will be hard standing on the Congress outdoor stage without her sister by her side. The last time she and Roberta played a Tucson show was on the Congress outdoor stage in 2016.
“I have to turn it off, the thought of her not being here, while I sing or I will cry,” she said. “The first show playing anywhere after she passed was hard — but honestly, I prayed. She was always my biggest supporter so that’s where I go mentally.”
Morales recalled how Roberta used to call record company presidents and tell them about her little sister when Lisa Morales was in her early 20’s.
Morales said her concert on Saturday could include some songs Roberta wrote and some songs from Sisters Morales. She also recently recorded a song that is a tribute to her sister called “Hermana.”
“I’m not sure I can do it or not,” she said. “It’s too raw right now for me, I think. It was hard to record it. The show will be upbeat and moving forward. She would want that.”
