Megan McCormick

Megan McCormick, a singer, songwriter, and guitarist based in Nashville, was raised in a musical household where she first took up the guitar at nine, later adding lap steel guitar, mandolin, and bass to her instrumental arsenal. She rapidly moved across genres on the instrument, absorbing blues, folk, country, jazz, and unadulterated rock & roll. By twelve she was already performing live in a family band alongside her cousins. At fifteen she relocated to Wasilla, AK, Sarah Palin's hometown, and joined the progressive bluegrass outfit Bearfoot. One year afterward, at sixteen, she entered East Tennessee State to study under bluegrass musicians Raymond McLain and Jack Tottle, among others. By eighteen she was on the road with Valerie Smith's bluegrass band. An accomplished instrumentalist, she next divided her schedule between the jazz-fusion ensemble Missy Raines & the New Hip and the indie-country group Everybodyfields. At twenty she made the expected move to Nashville, where her powerful, distinctive, and wide-ranging guitar approach quickly established her as a sought-after session musician. Beyond her instrumental skill, she had also matured into a talented songwriter who frequently collaborated with her friend Tami Hinesh. While developing her solo path, she came to the attention of music lawyer Tyler Middleton, who arranged Nashville showcases, secured a publishing agreement, engaged a manager, and ultimately obtained a recording contract with Rykodisc. The label issued her first album, Honest Words, produced by Dave O'Donnell, in 2010.