Maggie Longmire to Perform at Boundless: Artists in the Archives

Americana singer/songwriter Maggie Longmire will perform at the John C. Hodges Library on Thursday, March 23, 2023. Her appearance — part of the UT Libraries’ program Boundless: Artists in the Archives — will feature the first public performance of original songs inspired by materials held in UT Libraries’ Betsey B. Creekmore Special Collections and University Archives.

A reception in the Jack E. Reese Galleria begins at 5:30 p.m., followed by a performance in the Lindsay Young Auditorium at 6:30 p.m. Registration is requested, but not required.

Longmire spent her early childhood in LaFollette, Tennessee, and has strong family roots in Campbell County. Her songwriting reflects those roots. Seeking inspiration in our archives, she chose to explore life in East Tennessee coal country around the turn of the 20th century — especially women’s roles in mining communities.

Longmire has been a long-standing voice in the local music scene. In the 1970s, she joined the Lonesome Coyotes, whom many Knoxvillians will remember from their frequent performances at the 1982 World’s Fair. Her passion for songwriting, though, emerged when she took a break from performing. Her first CD of original songs, Teachers and Travelers, was followed by Granddaughters — An American Opera, a collaboration with her brother, John Longmire, which tells the story of her mother’s life in Campbell County in the early 1900s.

Longmire returned to live performance in the early 2000s with the reformed Lonesome Coyotes, the acoustic group Free Soil Farm, and numerous duos and partnerships. In 2017 she released her third album, Baby It’s Time, co-produced with Daniel Kimbro and featuring some of Knoxville’s finest musicians.

Most recently she has used her creative writing to address environmental concerns, hoping to spark action on climate change through her music and activism.

Her presentation on March 23 will be the fifth event in the Boundless series, which has included performances by Black Atticus, Marcel Holman, RB Morris, and Count This Penny.