‘At our black church in Chicago, the preacher foamed at the mouth about the evils of loving money’

In that time she has performed at the Guinness Cork Jazz Festival, Electric Picnic and Body and Soul, has sung at the National Concert Hall and Vicar Street, and has created shows such as The Nina in Me, an autobiographical show of her life intertwined with the music of Nina Simone, and The Story of Soul, a journey through America’s soul music.

Underwood will appear in Music of Faith and Doubt with a string quartet on April 28 at The Everyman in Cork, as part of a new genre-defying concert series led by classically-trained pianist John O’Brien.

What did you learn about money while growing up?

In the black church we went to in Chicago, the preacher would be vehemently foaming at the mouth about how a love of money is the root of all evil. It made you not want to have want money.

My family always invited people into our lives and our home. My momma would say: ‘A closed hand can neither receive anything nor give anything.’ You couldn’t have a tight, closed fist and then claim to love God. And I still believe that.

I give a lot of service to charity, to people with disabilities, lending my voice to people who came from Mother and Baby Homes, and to suicide charities. I lost my boy to suicide in 2012, and I go to schools to talk to fifth and sixth-year students about what it means to be a mother in this world without that extra mouth at the dinner table.

How did the closure of live entertainment during the pandemic affect your financial wellbeing?

I had all this wonderful stuff lined up and I lost almost every gig I had. I’m still trying to recover, because among the connections I’d made, many people had changed jobs or moved away during Covid.

John O’Brien had just co-written Lilith, a song cycle commissioned by the Cork Midsummer Festival, where I performed it in 2019. It was about to go on tour across the country – but it ended up being just one gig live-streamed from an empty Cork Opera House.

Covid taught me to have different irons in the fire to generate work for myself – there are no more one-trick ponies. I took a contract job as a relocation consultant. But now this work is being affected by the housing crisis and the laying off of IT staff by tech companies that over-hired during Covid.

We need non-nationals to come in and fill job positions but what foreigner wants to come here, with the rising element of distaste for foreigners?

I’ve experienced increased racism myself. When I was driving to Dunnes in Bishopstown, I saw a protest and a man holding up a sign saying ‘Ireland for the Irish’. I’ve never seen such a thing in Cork before.

​When were you most broke?

Now, definitely. With rising food costs, fuel costs an d less work, I can feel the hit.

Did you make any changes to your lifestyle when energy costs rose?

Where I live is not the most energy efficient home – so I dress warmer in the winter rather than adjusting the thermostat, and I turn off radiators in rooms I don’t use.

What’s the most expensive place you’ve ever been to?

The Ritz in Paris for a romantic getaway in 1999. I drank Dom.

What was your best ever investment?

Investing my time, energy and love into improving the family home, especially the garden, and extending the property.

What’s the most expensive thing you have ever bought?

Jewellery gifts for a lover. I used to be a spender. I spent my money on the people I love. Now I’d think differently.