Molly Contogeorge heading to Romerías de Mayo
Musician Molly Contogeorge is heading to Cuba to represent Australia at the Romerías de Mayo Youths Arts Festival. Music has been Molly’s passion from a very young age. Molly has been to America and played at some of the best clubs in the world and is as ambitious as they come. Getting behind Australian music and in particular independent artists like Molly can be very rewarding. Support her in any way you can. You can hear some of this young ladies singer/ songwriting skills
here
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Growing up in the same household as two music teachers and performers meant that most of my youth was spent falling asleep to the twang of Deep Purple’s Smoke on the Water ; or to the sounds of singing students ascending their scales and to those evenings spent wishing I was old enough to attend my mother’s gigs. My family life has always revolved around writing, performing and teaching and this has contributed greatly to my love of music and my desire to build a career from it. I penned my first song at the age of ten and now at twenty, I’ve amassed ten years’ worth of writing, recording and performing experience.
In 2008 at 17 and fresh out of high school, I made the journey to Austin, Texas to be part of the SxSW (South by south west) music festival and conference. Many people felt that my leap from school to SxSW was somewhat hasty, but in order to pursue a legitimate career in the music industry you have to be prepared to take the odd risk – and flying half way around the world to attend the largest live music festival and conference on the planet, seemed more like an opportunity than a risk. So, after months of deliberation and many serious discussions with my parents; I was off to Austin.
Since my professional debut in 2008, I’ve written and recorded a debut EP, “Cause and effect”; performed unofficial showcases in Austin during SxSW 2009; performed a handful of solo shows in New York, including The Living Room lounge (named as one of the top 40 best music venues in America) and The Bitter end (New York’s oldest ‘Rock’ pub); travelled to London to meet with publishing company District 6 (Jamie Cullum, Amy Winehouse) to discuss my future within the British music industry; won the Australian Youth Week “Industry Award” for 2010; contributed my own chapter to upcoming novel by author Amanda Cole (I hate Cinderella, You are my future) “Who Needs Prince Charming?” (a book packed full of inspirational Australian women and their tips on life, love and getting what you want); funded my first official tour (the “Sometimes” solo tour) which included shows in regional NSW, the ACT and VIC; started recording my sophomore EP (which is due for release in March) and most recently, I accepted my invitation to perform at the Romerías de Mayo World festival of Youth arts in Holguin, Cuba in 2011.
Holguin, also known as the City of Parks, sponsors and opens its streets every May for the Romerías de Mayo Youth arts festival. Throughout the duration of the festival, thousands of people will crowd the streets, and music, street theatre, dancing and poetry readings will take place all over the city. The Romerías de Mayo festival has become a party of tradition and modernity, turning Holguin (Cuba’s fourth largest city) into the Cuban Capital for New Art.
At this point in time, I’m the only Australian singer/songwriter who’ll be making the long journey over to Holguin in 2011. In spite of the lack of recognition and scarce promotion in the mass media, Romerías de Mayo can give foreign artists (such as myself) the opportunity to expose their music to an even wider arts community; as well as provide a platform for enlightening others on the importance of supporting music and the arts on an international scale.
To my mind, pursuing a career in music includes strengthening bonds; creating friendships with people from all over the world and expanding your knowledge of music and of life by experiencing different cultures. I can’t wait to represent Australia at Romerías de Mayo and can only hope that in coming years, more Australians (both young and old) will want to get involved too.
Tags: Molly Contogeorge , Romerías de Mayo