Interview - Margo Timmins of Cowboy Junkies - November 2025

Cowboy Junkies - Photo by Heather Pollock

By Bridget Herlihy

It is a rare phenomenon for a band to have been around for 40 years. It is even more of a rarity for a band to have been active for those four decades, with the original lineup still firmly intact. Yet Canada’s beloved alt-country/folk/blues rock act Cowboy Junkies have done just that. The quartet, featuring siblings Michael (guitars), Margo (vocals) and Peter Timmins (drums) along with Alan Anton (bass), released their debut album, Whites Off Earth Now!! in 1986. Recorded in the Timmins’ family garage, the band distributed the album themselves, garnering widespread curiosity and praise for their genre-defying sound. Yet it was the release of their second album in 1988, The Trinity Session, that saw the band receive critical acclaim and global attention with tracks including Sweet Jane, Blue Moon Revisited and Misguided Angel. Their revered songs have featured in a plethora of film and television soundtracks; for many, Sweet Jane is synonymous with Oliver Stone’s Natural Born Killers, the mellow track beautifully juxtaposed against the film’s dark themes. To date Cowboy Junkies have released 16 studio albums, the most recent being 2023’s Such Ferocious Beauty.

It's a warm Autumn afternoon in the North Toronto area when I speak with vocalist Margo Timmins about the band’s upcoming dates in Aotearoa, and ruminate about the band’s evolution, reaching significant milestones and the current challenges of touring.

Bridget: How are things in your neck of the woods?

Margo: Good. You know, it's fall, which is the most beautiful time of year here. Everything's red and golden and the leaves are all changing, and that's it. October is beautiful in Canada. I live about two hours north of Toronto. I live in the country.

Bridget: You are heading to springtime in the Southern Hemisphere very shortly.

Margo: Where has the year disappeared to? It's freaking me out. Oh my God, maybe I should pack. It's crazy.

Bridget: I'm sure you're familiar with that Crowded House song Four Seasons In One Day. That's exactly what you should be packing for. I'm hoping it will be beautiful spring weather by the time you get here.

Margo: We've also had a couple of spring storms roll through over the last week. I can't pack that much, not with what they charge these days. But yeah, it's good to bring a variety, because you don't quite know what you're going to be getting.

Bridget: Have you been touring quite extensively this year?

Margo: We've been touring a lot, like we usually do. We usually tour from September to June and then take the summer off. And then we also have December off for Christmas and all that. So at the end of this tour, when I get back at the end of November, I won't go out again until the end of January. There's gaps in between, but yeah, we've been touring our normal on-off on-off.

Bridget: Congratulations to the Cowboy Junkies for your 40th anniversary! It is such a significant milestone, even more so as the band is still the same lineup as when you first started, which is by no means a common feat.

Margo: No, it's kind of crazy. I wouldn't have even known it was 40 years, because it's not like I sit around counting how many years I've been with the Cowboy Junkies. Somebody told me that it was our 40th year. You know, the greatest part of it, for me anyway, is it's better than it ever has been. Our music is better; playing is easier. The only thing that's harder is the physical part of touring, as physically it's hard to go from bed to bed and not eat properly and not sleep properly. I'm not 30 any more. But the playing is beyond, and we are tighter in our friendships. And so it is quite something that we've been able to weather the years, because, you know, when you're younger, you're more dramatic and everything's more important. Now, it's really just about the music and our friendships and relationships and it's good. It's really quite special.

Bridget: From an outsider’s perspective, it seems to be quite a rare thing for that to happen. And as you have said, the band has evolved in such a way that the relationships within the band have become tighter, and the music has become better. Case in point, your last album, Such Ferocious Beauty, is such an apt title, because it is such a beautiful album.

Margo: Thank you. That means a lot. I think Ferocious Beauty is for me a really special album. I mean, they're all special when you're doing them, but when you look back on them, I mean, it was such a difficult time. It was the end of Covid, where all our lives – everybody in the world's lives – changed in some way, some very dramatically. People lost their loved ones, and then [there was] this world shift. But also then on top of that, during Covid, we were watching our dad leave the planet. And our mama died in 2018. Thank God – she would have hated Covid. That would have really freaked her out. But Dad lived through Covid, but his mind… He had dementia, and he slowly, you know, just slowly faded away from us and all his memories and from himself. That was really hard, but it was also a unique experience to watch and to be a part of and to help him through it. And so that's what Ferocious Beauty is all about, those sort of connections – you know, connections to the planet, connections to our losses, connections to watching somebody you love and who's so important sort of die before his body died. And there's so many people, you know, when I'm introducing Ferocious Beauty on stage, you know, point out that our audience is our age too. So they're going through the same. They're either through it or they're going into it or they're in the middle of it. And it's a journey that should be acknowledged, because it's a hard one.

Bridget: It is. I’m sorry to hear of your loss. I went through it with my father. He died in 2011. It's like they say, the slow goodbye. Dementia is like the tide; every time a wave comes in, it takes a little bit more of them away. Listening to Such Ferocious Beauty, from the very first bars of the first track, it captivated me; it is exquisite. To hear the story behind it just makes it that much more profound.

Margo: Well, I'm glad. And, you know, that album we had because of Covid. And the good part of Covid, was, you know… I have memories of Mike, who rented a farm just down the road from my farm. And that time was really special, to just have that time with my brother. And here we are in our 60s, you know, spending time together, just him and I playing without wives and husbands and children and the other band members. That was great. As children, Mike and I spent a lot of time together. Of the six kids, we are the two middle. So it was like old times, you know, to have him all to myself. It was good, so it was a very intimate album.

Bridget: That intimacy is very evident when listening to the album. To have that kind of experience is a huge silver lining; if the pandemic hadn't happened, you may not have had that priceless time with your brother, and the album may not have evolved to become what it is.

Margo: Yeah. I've always believed that in life – I mean, I'm a much more positive person than negative. I do believe that out of trauma and craziness stuff comes out that is good. And we have to try to, especially these days, try to find the good. Try to find something good, even with this craziness that our world's in right now. Maybe it's making us more aware of how important it is to be kinder, to be more open, to be more accepting. Because there's so much behind us that is shutting everything down and causing trauma and chaos, and controversy and hate. So I'm very much that person. And I think with Covid there was a lot that came out of it that was good.

Bridget: I agree. I agree. And like you, I'm very much more glass-half-full than glass-half-empty, if you want to use that cliché. In the first few months of the pandemic and ensuing lockdown, it seemed that most people were saying hello to each other and smiling and being friendly. There was a widespread openness and warmth to people that I hadn't really experienced to that degree before, and that was a quite significant silver lining.

Margo: Yeah, absolutely. I remain hopeful for the future. I know things are a bit bleak at the moment, but I try not to get political.

Bridget: I concur, and I appreciate that. As a fan of music, probably one of the most uplifting experiences I have had in life has been experiencing live music. So the fact that you're able to tour again, and it's only been three years since you were last in New Zealand, it is wonderful to have you coming back again, and so soon!

Margo: I'm really happy to come back, because last time I was there, I was quite ill. So I spent most of my time in the hotel or at the venue. And I'm a big birder. I love birds. And there's so many beautiful birds in New Zealand and Australia, so I missed it all. I don't even remember half of it; I don't even remember getting home. So I'm looking forward to experiencing not just playing again, but enjoying your country.

Bridget: I hope that the weather gods will be kind and that you don't get ill this time! And that you get to experience our birdlife.

Margo: I mean, hopefully we have time off. I don't know what the schedule is.

Bridget: With regards to touring, over the last couple of years the number of international artists bypassing New Zealand seems to have increased. I know a number of fans consider it to be a personal slight. However, there are considerable costs that come with touring, especially for artists coming from the Northern Hemisphere. So for the Cowboy Junkies to be returning to New Zealand and play four shows, having only been here three years ago, is greatly appreciated!

Margo: Well, thank you. I mean, New Zealand isn't as close as you think it is. No, it's not – it's way out there! But our band has never been about the big bucks. We want to do the tour where we want to. We want to go and play a tour where we can. If the promoters think that there's an audience and they can give us a gig, then we're in. And it doesn't have to be a fancy place or a non-fancy place, as long as there's people. So that's what makes it worth our while. Coming home from this tour, we're not going to have a lot of gold coins in our pocket. But we love being in New Zealand and Australia, and we've played a couple of great shows, and we've seen some wonderful birds and met some nice people. That's what we do; that's our job. And our touring, one night we'll play a beautiful, big hall, and then the next night be in a little funny pub. It's very hard on the ego, because one night I'll have a beautiful dressing room and the next night I'm getting dressed in a little tiny bathroom with graffiti all over the walls. But as I say, gigs in these beautiful halls are fun and great, but also playing in a pub or a train station or a tent or whatever is also fun, and it's about playing and doing what we do.

Bridget: You say it's not great for the ego, but it must keep you grounded.

Margo: Yes, it very much does that. It's quite organic and keeps you sort of at your roots and so on.

Bridget: How wonderful that you're able to do that. I recently saw a comment made by Shirley Manson from Garbage, who are currently doing a reasonably extensive tour of North America. She said it is probably going to be the last time that the band will be able to play anywhere in the US that's not the West or East Coast, due to the sheer cost of touring. She reiterated that the big pop stars who are bringing in billions of dollars only make up a minute part of the music industry. The majority of the industry is actually made up of working musicians who don't earn millions, let alone billions, of dollars. Given the current costs associated with touring, it's just not financially viable to undertake extensive international tours. Have Cowboy Junkies had to narrow the scope of where and when you tour?

Margo: Yeah, I mean, we tour mainly in the States. That's our largest audience. But even that's costing more and more; there's more and more taxes. And in the old days, the promoters had a fair range to take certain percentages or not. A lot of them didn't because they were trying to make a living. Now they have to, because there's the new administration. There's stricter rules that are making it harder and harder. It's harder to cross the border; it's harder to get in there. So it's definitely harder. And I mean, for bands like us, I love playing, we all love playing. But physically, it's a hard way to make a living. To be moving all the time, to get in a van. It's not like we have big tour buses and a masseuse on hand. It's like, get in the van, catch the show. We're touring like we did when we first started. There was a period where we did have the big tour buses. We never had the masseuse, but we had the big tour bus. And that's because we could afford it. Now we can't afford the big tour buses and all that. And that's not a complaint. It's just a fact of life. So it's interesting that at age 65, I'm touring like I did when I was 28. But physically, getting out of that van after a four-hour drive, it's like... Yeah, it's when things start cracking. I've got aches and pains. But again, it's the way things are, so you do what you can do.

Bridget: Those challenges and increases in costs and the logistics of touring increases the gratitude we have that you are able to come down here and do this series of shows to celebrate the band’s 40th anniversary.

Margo: It is nice to hear that, because, again, a lot of people don't realise how little bands make. And in the old days, we also had other sources of revenue, like selling albums and selling merchandise. We still sell merch, but we don't sell that much. And royalties, and you had your big record company writing cheques and paying for certain things. You know, I would say most bands, older bands, they're trying to make ends meet. And again, I'm not complaining. I have the best job in the world. And at the end of my work day, people stand on their feet and clap for me, so I have nothing to complain about. But it's not easy.

Bridget: I realise that some of the artists that have bypassed New Zealand have got gargantuan stage shows that require huge venues and several sell-out performances just to break even. I think back to a show I went to earlier this year, a three-piece band from Los Angeles. They had some lighting, their instruments and that was it, and it was the most phenomenal performance. The pyrotechnics, screens and gimmicks aren't necessary. I would sooner see an artist perform without all of the fanfare than not see them at all.

Margo: We just strip it right back. There is such beauty in simplicity. That's what it's supposed to be, right? I mean, you know, those big, huge shows, they're an extravaganza. To me, what makes me sad about that is that even though they're mega, mega stars, but even under that, ticket sales and prices are so high for bands now. Like my son, who's 22 and loves music, he can't afford to go see a lot of the people he wants to see. In my day, I saw the Rolling Stones play, I can't remember how many times, because their ticket was [affordable]. Yeah, I had to work a little harder and save a little bit more, but it wasn't totally out of reach. You know, I could do it. And I could even follow them to the next city and get another ticket for the next night or whoever. And so I saw all my heroes, and he can't. There's no way. He'd have to... he couldn't pay rent to get one ticket. And I think there's something wrong with that, because I think it's so limiting. For me, those shows were so inspirational, not just as a musician, just as a young person. They held my head together, you know? They kept my soul alive. I think they kept me alive. I saw them all, and he hasn't been able to. Where I get sad is that it's cutting off a generation from live music, and I think that is a tragedy. Because I watch my son; he's that age where you're trying to figure out who you're supposed to be and what you're supposed to do. I think music is the answer to a lot of people just to keep them feeling... like you were saying, you go to a good show and you walk out feeling renewed and refreshed and good, you know… just cool.

Bridget: What can the audiences expect to see from Cowboy Junkies during this New Zealand tour?

Margo: How we do it these days – and it seems to work really well for our audience and certainly works well for us – is that we do two sets. The first set is a smaller set and usually consists of any newer material, and the second set is all much older material. If we have a new album that we are pushing, most of the songs for that set would be from that album. This time in those two sets we will mix it up; you will hear a lot of The Trinity Session, because that is the album that a lot of people discovered us from. We will do Sweet Jane, and most nights we will do Misguided Angel. It's one of the songs when I see it on the set list, I’m like, ‘Arghhhh!’ But when I start to sing it and I see people snuggling up and grabbing their loved ones, I’m inspired. We usually do Blue Moon, which I still love singing; I love that song. I mean, I love doing them all. And then we will do stuff off Ferocious Beauty, and everything else will be kind of whatever we feel like doing.

Bridget: We can’t wait to see you back down here. It sounds like these shows are going to be very special. Does the band have plans for a new album? Is there something in the works?

Margo: Yeah, we are writing it right now. It's going really well. The way that we do things is that Mike writes a song, he brings it to me, and then we sort of work it out acoustically. We’ve done 17 songs, and we have just recently sent them off to Pete and Al. And once we send them to Pete and Al, things change! And that inspires me to change my approach, and things grow from there. We do a section in the second part of our evening that's acoustic, and we break the songs back down to where they started, which is just Mike and I, and I love doing it because I love going back to the basics… this is the genesis of the songs.

With a new album in the works, Cowboy Junkies are returning to the Antipodes to play a series of shows this week in New Zealand, including performances in Auckland, Palmerston North, Wellington and Christchurch, before heading to Australia to play their final shows for 2025.