About

I was going to write this all in third-person, but that got weird. So here I am: Amy Courts. Singer-songwriter, writer, wife, mom, activist-ally-accomplice, champion of the underdog, avid runner, occasional yogini, student, thinker, theologian, and deconstructing progressive Christian in search of the meaning of life. I hold a bachelor’s degree in biblical theology and apologetics and am unsure whether or not I believe any of it.

I believe: Black Lives Matter, LGBTQIA rights are human rights, First Nations know and protect the earth, Immigrants are America, Refugees are Welcome, and people of all and no religions have deep wisdom for us.

I currently live in North Minneapolis, MN with my husband Paul, our son Elijah, and our two amazing dogs and one amazingly entitled cat who takes her meals under the couch.

Before moving to Minneapolis in 2011, l lived in Nashville for nine years where I pursued music full-time. During that near-decade, I released two independent solo albums (available at www.amycourts.com) and ultimately toured with Jennifer Knapp and Derek Webb in 2010. After being told to avoid any major life distractions and interferences in order to capitalize on my musical momentum following that tour, I promptly became pregnant. I gave birth to Elijah in May 2011 in dramatic fashion: I had an emergency hysterectomy followed by extreme postpartum hemorrhaging and, after losing 23 units of blood over the course of a five-hour surgery, had an emergent, life-saving hysterectomy. Knowing Eli would be my only child, I put music aside, we moved to Minnesota to be near my step-son Matt, and I devoted my time to being a stay-home mom and working part time singing in various local party bands and with Billy McLaughlin’s Simple Gifts. Once Eli started kindergarten, I got bored. So Paul and I stole Eli’s excellent band name and formed the duo Fireworks on Ferris Wheels. We took 2016 to write and record our debut collaborative album, and released it in November 2017. It’s available at www.fireworksonferriswheels.com and pretty much anywhere digital music is sold.

These days, if I’m not writing or singing, I can be found working at our church as office administrator and helping our non-profit provide housing and resources to people in our community. One of the best things about becoming an accidental Lutheran is that they don’t mind my doubts and questions, and welcome me with open arms to do the work of Now, regardless of what any of us thinks of Later.

PS: If you dig through archives, you’ll probably note a change of tone and beliefs. I keep these archives because they were true for me at the time, and maybe they can offer value to others who are in a similar place that I was, or at least not where I am. We all come from somewhere. This is an invitation to peek into where I come from.

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