SouthCoast Singer Grace Morrison Shares Surprising Flight with Pete Buttigieg

A SouthCoast singer-songwriter recently had quite the flight back to Massachusetts, when she got to sit next to presidential hopeful Pete Buttigieg and have the conversation of a lifetime.

Wareham native Grace Morrison was flying home from the Sandy Lee Watkins Songwriters Festival in Henderson, Kentucky on July 31. She was eager to get home to her seven-year-old son after a rough start to her trip.

“I really battle sometimes with the guilt of leaving him,” Morrison told WBSM. “I really only travel when it’s work-related. I just felt grumpy and wasn’t excited to be traveling.”

A Rough Trip Takes a Surprising Turn

However, her mood was brightened when she saw who her row mate would be for her flight home: the former Secretary of Transportation and former Mayor of South Bend, Indiana himself.

“I had the aisle seat and next thing you know, a handsome gentleman who was dressed quite professionally said, ‘Excuse me, I’ve got the window,’” Morrison said. “And it was Pete!”

At first, she was a little nervous about bothering Buttigieg, who was heading to Massachusetts for speaking engagements in Marion and Provincetown in support of the reelection of Governor Maura Healey.

READ MORE: Inside Pete Buttigieg's High-Dollar Campaign Stop at a Historic Cape Cod Inn

“I laughed to him and said, ‘You won’t believe it, but my friend was just telling me she’s attending a dinner you’re speaking at, and I was so jealous I told her to send a picture of the two of you. Any chance I could get a picture? I promise I won’t bother you after that.”

Courtesy Grace Morrison

From Casual Introductions to Deep Conversations

Not only did Buttigieg take the photo with Morrison, he started chatting with her during the flight.

“We talked about all sorts of things! I was just tickled that he was initiating conversation with me,” Morrison said. “He recommended the new Odyssey movie, we discussed the murder mystery I’m reading.”

While most in-flight conversation between seat neighbors borders on the mundane, Morrison and Buttigieg were able to dig into some deeper topics.

“We talked about how most of America is right down the middle and completely exhausted by the news,” she said. “We talked about parenting and how hard it is to know when it’s the right time to start discussing current events with curious little minds. And then he pointed out the window at a bridge that he had helped fix. I asked him how it feels to be able to look out of an airplane and see your direct impact.”

READ MORE: Massachusetts Poll Shows Pete Buttigieg Leading the 2028 Field

“Honestly, I felt like I met a super intelligent, interesting person who really cares about leaving the world better than he found it,” Morrison said.

She said Buttigieg was a “fabulous” seat neighbor, and that both of them were excited that no one sat in the middle seat between them.

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Comparing Notes on Celebrity Flight Companions

Morrison has had some interesting seat neighbors on her flights.

“The last time I flew home from Nashville, (country singer) Maren Morris was next to me. Not quite so friendly, but she was clearly listening to new song mixes and getting ready for her Newport Folk Fest set,” Morrison said. “We commiserated about how annoying it is to fly with a guitar, which is a problem she no longer has.”

Buttigieg wasn’t even the first nationally-recognized politician to sit next to her, either.

“Prior to (Morris), I was next to former Senator John Cornyn from Texas,” Morrison said. “On a friendly scale of 1-10, I’d give him a one.”

More on Morrison's Music

Morrison is currently on tour. Her new single “Hallelujah All Y’all Weirdos” will be released on August 14, and her most recent album Saltwater Country is now available on vinyl. You can find it all at GraceMorrison.com.