Behind The Scenes With…Megan Black

Scottish artist Megan Black fuses 70’s blues rock with queer feminist pop. Her music is socially charged, tackling themes like feminism, the LGBTQ+ community, mental health and addiction. Her aim? To empower people and bring about positive change. Megan Black’s work was recently recognised by the UK-based charity Youth Music, dubbing Black as one of their Ones to Watch for 2024.

We caught up with Megan Black to learn about her journey so far. We also touched upon the changes she’d like to see happen in the music industry.

What are some of your earliest musical memories?

Playing ‘Wagon Wheel’ about one hundred times in my first-ever folk band when I was fifteen. That was where I first sang with other people and learned to play guitar and piano. My early folk days also inspired my love of story-telling as a songwriter. It is a heavy influence on my own lyrics today.

What message do you want to convey through your music?

My music is always for younger Megan – I grew up queer in a small town and didn’t feel comfortable to be myself. I want to make music that makes young Megan feel seen. If my audience gets to feel seen too because of my music, that’s the dream. I want people to feel okay showing up in the world in their own way.

Who is your dream collaborator?

Probably David Byrne or Stevie Nicks!

Highlight of your career so far?

The highlight of my career was playing a mini tour in California at the end of last year. I already can’t wait to go back (more on that later!)

Who else should we listen to from your local scene?

There are so many artists! Off the top of my head: Lo Rays, Never Fine, Eyve, Emma Dunlop, P Sweatpants, Eve Simpson, and Kohla.

If you had to change one thing about the music industry, what would it be?

Make networking events less boring! Just kidding, however, as a neurospicy individual, navigating certain types of events and spaces to make connections can be so difficult. I think there’s a lot of ways to network that can be fun and share a love for music a bit more.

I think we need to see more people being represented. As soon as you see someone who looks like you and has a similar experience to you doing something cool, you believe you can do that, too. 

Any projects in the pipeline that you’d like to share with us?

I have some amazing festivals coming up this year. I’ve just released my new song ‘Funk for Introverts’ (along with a very strange choreographed dance video to go with it). I’m also writing some new things, working on some new collabs, and possibly some overseas shows! More to come on all of this soon.