Jenny Pacillo
Americana artist Molly McKeon fell in love with music at a young age. Raised in a musical family, she began playing the violin when she was 7, taught herself guitar at 14 and hasn’t stopped since. Her new original single, “Off to Work I Go,” drops on Nov. 6 and can be found on all music streaming platforms. She’ll be celebrating the release with an official launch show Nov. 7 at the Sterling Street Brewery in Clinton, and if you’re reading this, you’re invited! Come raise a pint, enjoy some live music and help McKeon kick off this new chapter in her career!
McKeon traveled to Nashville with her mother over the summer to record three original songs. “Off to Work I Go” is the first single she’s releasing, with the other two to follow over the winter. “I recorded three songs when I was down there, and this is just the first one that I wanted to release,” she says. “It’s more upbeat, so I thought it set a good pace for everything else.”
The single was recorded with session musicians in Nashville. “I did it with a full band. It was really cool to record with them, and they were all very supportive. Obviously, I was a little bit nervous going into that. I just didn’t want to be the only one to mess up,” she says with a laugh.
All three songs draw on bluegrass and old country, and “Off to Work I Go” tells the story of a cowboy. “I really like when bluegrass songs tell a story,” she says. “First of all, it’s easier to remember the lyrics, but also, I just like being able to create a visual in my mind of what’s happening, what’s next to come, that kind of thing.”
Releasing music independently is both a challenge and a learning experience. McKeon isn’t signed to a label, so she funded the recordings with money earned from her live gigs. “There were so many things I had to learn just for the process of releasing this one single,” she explains, “like how to publish on ASCAP and all the ins and outs of those kinds of things. I’m happy doing it on my own. I actually learned a lot, whereas if I just handed it off to someone else to have them do it, I wouldn’t have learned all those really intricate details.”
McKeon’s musical journey is very much a family affair. She and her mother often go out to see live music together, and her sister shoots her photos. Her grandfather was a musician who encouraged everyone in the family to learn an instrument.
Over the past couple of years, McKeon has been playing out steadily, and she says it’s a blast. “It is cool connecting with a bunch of people that I don’t think I would have otherwise met at these events,” she says. “Everyone’s so sweet. The people are so supportive.”
You can learn more about McKeon and check out her upcoming shows at her website, mollymckeonmusic.com. She’s on all social media platforms at MollyMcKeonMusic.