Just Meg; an Interview

by Jess Worrow

I confess a few nerves about my first interview, in a coffee shop in Chippenham, however after meeting folk singer-songwriter Meg, it became more like a chat between two friends. Meg is appearing on the line-ups of many local festivals and venues, from Trowbridge’s Pump, Chippenham Pride and Folk Festival, to MDBTYD festival in Swindon.….

I asked her which gig she was most looking forward to, “the Minety Festival is where most of my focus is, as it’s the closest,” she explained. Meg is playing the Minety stage on Friday night alongside other upcoming artists such as Boston Green and The Sunnies, and amidst legends like Dodgy, Reef and Scouting For Girls.

But which are her favourite venues and most memorable gigs? “It’s a difficult question, I find gigs better when there are friendly people and a good environment. I did a gig with Boston Green at Newark Hall in Chippenham; they were amazing!” Meg was passionate about the Pump in Trowbridge, which presents opportunities to upcoming and diverse musicians. “Kieran,” she said, “who runs it is really involved in helping young musicians.”

I was keen to understand the difficulties for younger people getting local bookings, at sixteen it must be hard to get gigs being many venues are pub-based. “At times it can,” Meg said, “I’ve had a few venues who’ve said no because they’re 18 plus, so, like bars and clubs, as legally it would be very difficult. Then getting the fan base in because many of them are younger as well.”

What’s Meg’s favourite thing about performing? “The fact I can do it and that there’s an audience who cares enough to actually listen, and who will come up and talk to me afterwards; it’s really sweet. And of course, I love it! I wouldn’t do it if I didn’t love it.”

Glastonbury is a dream gig for any artist, Meg included. “Though I don’t think I’d like to go there unless I was playing,” she remarked. Meg cited Florence and the Machine and Aurora as influences, “they have been hugely influential on my personal style. When I was first going out, I didn’t have many originals, mainly doing Florence and Aurora covers.” But now Meg is a prolific writer. “At this point,” she expressed, “I’m doing all originals, but this time last year I only had two and was doing mainly covers. I actually wrote a bunch of songs whilst doing my GCSEs! It’s a good way to relieve stress. So, I have a lot more material now.”

Enough for an album, and at such a young age? Meg was thrilled about an opportunity to record her songs, “I mean that’s got to be exciting, right?”

“I’m so excited for that!” Meg expressed, “I’ve got two days booked, so hopefully I’ll get all the songs I’ve got going at the moment recorded. Yess, there’s going to be an album! We are going to aim to start releasing around September, and then the album will probably come out between then and Christmas.”

“I feel like the music industry isn’t always that accessible to become successful in, but at my age, I think I have the freedom to put a lot of time into it, and I’m obviously still supported by my parents, and I love them so much; they help me a lot with it!”

I wondered where Meg got her inspiration. “Inspired by the work of Aurora and Florence and the Machine,” she began, “I love nature so that can sometimes help. And rain, whenever it rains I seem to get ideas! A month ago it was really misty and I wrote a song which is called Mist, which is one of my favourites. When inspiration strikes you just have to write; I often find I’ll be writing songs in the back of my school books!”

Where did it all begin? “This probably sounds cliche,” Meg replied, “but it’s always been there, as soon as I could talk I started singing! I was four when I wrote my first little song. I would always sing with my mum when I was younger which really helped get me into it and my dad played musical instruments so that helped too.”

Mist being her personal fav, Meg continued, “There is this one that’s a calm one; some people say it’s sad, but it’s very nostalgic for me. It’s called Hide in the Rain. There is also another one that’s really helped me through a lot of things, called Together, because I’m autistic the song has helped remind me I can unmask, I don’t have to pretend to be someone else and it’s fine to be me.”

Mentioning Together, about her autism, I asked Meg when she is writing her songs does she try to represent autism? “I think Together is the only song I’ve written about it. But I do quite openly talk about it and I don’t think it should be something people are scared to talk about. For me personally it’s part of who I am and I really value that part of me. It’s made some parts of life difficult but it’s made parts of my life better. I honestly don’t think I would be doing this if I wasn’t autistic, in a weird way. All of my songs are about me in some respect and it’s a part of me I can’t escape.”

Does Meg get performance anxiety? “Sometimes, it often depends on the gigs. At new environments like a festival I’ve never been to, or when I’ve got a lot of new songs I haven’t performed, I found then that it can be very nerve-racking.”

It was lovely chatting to Meg, I asked her what her proudest musical accomplishment was, so far. “I’m not sure. It’s hard to say, but coming second in Take the Stage in Chippenham, when I was fifteen has to be up there!” And I’m sure there will be many more!

You can find Meg performing at Minety, Trowbridge Festival, MDBYTD and The Shuffle and regularly at The Pump. 

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