Megan McInerney, known by her stage name Meg Mac, is an Australian singer-songwriter and musician. She signed to littleBIGMAN Records in 2014, locally, and 300 Entertainment in the United States.
She went to school at the McDonald Performing Arts College in Sydney.[2]
She began a degree in digital media but soon quit this after she moved to Perth, Western Australia, to study music at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts. After completing her degree, she recorded "Known Better" and submitted it to Triple J Unearthed. After deciding to move to Melbourne, Victoria, she headed east on a road trip with a carload of friends. As they were approaching Melbourne, she discovered that Triple J, a national radio station, was planning to play her song that evening.[3]
Musical career
2013–2017: Career beginnings and Low Blows
The initial exposure to Triple J catapulted Mac's musical career. She was the Unearthed Featured Artist of the Week in 2013[4] and Unearthed Artist of the Year in 2014.[5]
In July 2014, Mac announced her first national headline tour to promote her debut extended play, MegMac, which was issued on 12 September that year on littleBIGMAN Records.[6] On Triple J, the national youth radio station, she was announced as their "Unearthed Artist of 2014",[7] while Marie Claire Australia chose her as an "Artist to Watch" for 2015[8] and she received a nomination for Rolling Stone Australia's "Best New Talent" Award.[9]
She was reviewed by The New York Times, BuzzFeed,[10] and Daytrotter. Mac toured supporting Clean Bandit.[11]
Mac's debut album Low Blows was released on 14 July 2017,[15] and entered the ARIA Chart at No.2
2018–2021: Hope
In October 2018, Mac released the single "Give Me My Name Back" which she told Billboard "is a song for those who have suffered emotional and physical abuse; it's for the women who are standing up and speaking out, those discriminated against in the LGBTQI community, the indigenous people of Australia and the children abused by the church. For everyone who has lost an important part of themselves and needs to reclaim their identity, dignity, and self-worth to move forward with their lives."[16] Her second studio album was announced on 12 April 2019 under the title Hope.[17]
In 2018, Mac collaborated with Dan Sultan on Killer Under a Blood Moon, produced and recorded by Jan Skubiszewski.[18] The album was nominated for two ARIA awards[19] and debuted at number 5 on the ARIA Albums Chart.
2022–present
In March 2022, Mac released "Is It Worth Being Sad" with Mac saying "I was running away from my troubles. I was living in peace finally and thought I'd figured it all out, and it was all smooth sailing ahead. It was the start of sorting out my life. This song was like my first step—I didn't know it then, though."[20] This was followed by "On My Mind" on 30 March 2022 and an Australian tour announcement, commencing in May.[21] In July 2022, Mac announced her third studio album Matter of Time, which was released on 16 September 2022.[22] The album was proceeded by the singles "Is It Worth Being Sad", "On Your Mind", "Only Love", "Letter"[23] and "Understand".[24][25] The album debuted at number 1 on the ARIA Charts.
On 29 November 2022, Mac released a five-track live EP titled Live At Golden Retriever.[26]
The Australian Independent Record Awards (commonly known informally as AIR Awards) is an annual awards night to recognise, promote and celebrate the success of Australia's Independent Music sector.
The National Live Music Awards (NLMAs) is a broad recognition of Australia's diverse live industry, celebrating the success of the Australian live scene. The awards commenced in 2016.