South Bay born and raised artist, MEGG, bridges the gap between her love for pop music and her Southern California beach punk rock roots – while combining that with her in-your-face, unapologetically goofy and warm personality. With a voice that sounds like the lovechild of P!nk and Bishop Briggs, you can’t help but be captivated by the strength and grit of her vocals and her attention commanding stage presence. Her feel-good, hard hitting music will have you driving way too fast, scream singing at the top of your lungs with the windows rolled down on your way to the beach to drink with your friends. “Keep your ears and eyes open to this powerful Pop-Rock package”, says the legend Patrice Rushen. 

MEGG has opened for The Used at Musink, performed at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion as well as the Disney Concert Hall, appeared on NBC’s The Voice and was one of five vocalists to come out of the first graduating class of USC’s Popular Music Performance Program. With a new EP, Here For Now, out on September 9th, she’s back and she’s got a lot to say. Follow along and saddle up for a wild ride.

Tell us about the story of your act.

Well, I’ve been on stage since I was 8 years old. I’ve always known I wanted to be a performer and a singer so my parents fostered that dream right from the beginning. Started with recitals, then musical theatre – I was in every musical theatre production that existed in the area, sang in whatever I could in grade school, auditioned and was accepted into the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts, was in 8973483 musicals and operas,  co-started an all girl group called Runway MCC with our own clothing line that was sold in over 200 Wet Seal stores nationwide, graduated from LACHSA with a major in Voice and a minor in Musical Theatre, switched gears and auditioned and was 1 of 5 vocalists accepted into the brand new Popular Music Performance Program at the University of Southern California in the Thornton School of Music, dropped out of Runway MMC and released my first solo EP as MEGG (this was the first time I had released songs that I had written so I knew it was the start of something!), my senior year released an EP with my buddies for a pop/punk band we started called Party For One, graduated USC with a BM in Popular Music Performance, went on The Voice for a second, came back and released another solo EP called Crux, took an unintentional break from music while I was busy falling in love, released a couple singles in 2020 and an acoustic Christmas EP and am now back with a brand new EP that dropped on September 9th called Here For Now! That’s the story!

What is the message behind your art? 

I just want to write music that people can relate to. My favorite bands and artists make music that I feel like I couldn’t written myself based on similar shit I’ve also been through or they express feelings and emotions in ways I could never put into words. Music moves people & I just want to contribute to that. I’d say my main message has always been to just be your fuckin self. I grew up always being told I was “ too loud” or “ too obnoxious” or “not feminine enough” blah blah blah so a lot of what I write is about embracing what makes us all individuals and owning that shit. Who cares what anyone thinks about you – if you love you, that’s all that matters. 

What are some sources of inspiration for your lyrics and storytelling?

Shit that I’ve been through or things I’m currently going through. Everything I write is based on my life and my experiences. 

Who is an artist that you look up to more than others today?

Musically, UPSAHL. Brand wise, Kelsy Karter. Drive wise, Mod Sun. 

Was was the record or artist that changed your life?

Oh wow… um – probably Tragic Kingdom/Gwen Stefani. She really paved the way for me in terms of being your weird as fuck, authentic self and not giving a shit what anyone thought of it. She’s also from a community that’s similar to the one I grew up in so I’ve always really looked up to her. She changed the game for me in terms of style and approach to the music industry as a woman back then. When I first started listening to them as a kid, she broke allll the rules for how women in music “should act” or what they “should look like” and I LOVED that. I would also say Paramore/Hayley Williams was crucial in shaping my artistry. She gave us vocalists and rock girls permission to sing your ass off technically and still snap your neck off on stage. Both of these women dominated in a very male heavy genre. Bad asses.

Tell us about your latest release and how it came about.

Ah, my sweet baby Here For Now. Creating this EP was such a journey of self discovery. As I mentioned before, I had taken an unintentional break from music while I had fallen in love and really got wrapped up in my relationship at that time. I had never experienced love like that before and it truly was a beautiful thing – I dove all the way in. The only problem was, I had left myself out to dry and wasn’t satiating my artistry or my creative soul. Halfway through that relationship, I became miserable and depressed and  knew I had to get back to making music so I moved out of my boyfriend at the time and I’s apartment, moved to LA proper and started writing the songs you hear now on the EP. At the time, I was SO fuckin lost… I had given myself completely over to the relationship and didn’t really know who I was anymore – as an artist but also as a woman . Writing these songs really was me just coming back to me and finding myself again. I think I was re-discovering myself musically and I think you can hear that! SHAMOO was the first song Matias Mora and I wrote for this EP and once it was written, we were like “oh, here she is”. We didn’t limit ourselves to writing songs in a certain genre, we just wrote songs that felt like and were MEGG and the rest was history. 

You seem to be fusing several musical genres. What inspires your sound?

Haha yeah, I have trouble sticking to just one. I’m really inspired by so many different artists and genres that they all kinda just melt together! I think there are a few key things that inspire my sound: my hometown the South Bay and the culture that comes along with it, the music I was brought up listening to by my brothers and by my parents, the music I loved and found myself and finally, my love for Musical Theatre. My parents were alwwayyssss blasting classic rock through the house growing up, ACDC, Guns N Roses, Led Zeppelin, Joe Cocker while my brothers got me hooked on Rancid, Sublime, Avenged Sevenfold, Static X, Thrice, etc and at the same time, I was obsessed with Britney Spears, Spice Girls, Shania Twain and No Doubt. Mix that all together with my love for Musical Theatre and bam, you get this fuckin mishmosh of a sound that feels so me. I would say it’s like Alt-Pop? Beach-Pop? I don’t fucking know how to describe it

How would you want people to feel while listening to your music?

I would hope they feel like they can relate to what I’m saying and singing about! I would want them to feel seen, like they wanna get in their car and blast this shit at full volume and scream sing along while driving maybe a little too fast on the way to a house party. 

Where are some things you really want to accomplish as an artist?

OOO, I wanna go on a world tour!! I wanna sell out stadiums. I wanna meet and connect with people all over the world through music and just sing and perform for the rest of my life. I want to collaborate with some of my idols and just make music til my legs give out. 

I really love being on stage – if I could make a living doing that, I’ll be a happy little fucker. There’s some other shit I’m currently in the process of creating that has been a life long goal of mine too but you’ll have to wait and see!

What inspires your style?

I’d say my hometown and my upbringing as the only girl in a family with four brothers! Haha oddly enough, my poor mom was in fashion her whole life so being her only daughter who was more interested in my big brothers hammy downs than I was the designer shit she would die to see me in was probably not her dream lol. I’ve just always been stylistically inspired by shit that makes me feel good and makes me feel like my most authentic self. I’ve  never really cared about the trends… I think that was the luckiest part about growing up without social media was we just dressed in shit we liked and felt good in. Yeah it was CVS orange foundation, black eye liner on the water line with zero mascara on, glittery chapstick, a studded belt from Tilly’s and jeans so lowrise our buttcracks were out but we all felt good and “ cool” in it. I still follow that vibe – I like wearing shit that makes me feel good and makes me feel like no-body can fuck with me. In fact this may be embarrassing but I don’t think my style has changing much since I was like 10 (except the lowrise jeans… thank GOD that vibe ended)

Was there ever a moment when you felt like giving up?

Oh my God, MANY. There have been so many labels who took passes, so many failed attempts at success, so many “no’s” and let downs and a LOT of fear. I think any artist you come across will tell you that. This life is filled with people telling you it’s never going to happen for you but you just have to keep chugging along. If you believe in yourself and keep getting back on your feet, eventually you’ll stay on your feet and everyone else will believe in you too. 

What is the best advice you’ve ever gotten?

Ok 3:

1. My mom started a clothing company after her first one was stolen out from under her leaving her with nothing. It was called b.i.y.a.y.c.d.a which stood for Believe In Yourself and You Can Do Anything. That shit stuck with me as a kid and will be a part of me forever. Sounds cheesy but it really is so true. 

2. My friend Maddie Ross once told me “The people we see as “successful” are just the people who never gave up.”

3. Another great friend of mine Mack Ogden recently told me “In your life, you are the main character and the viewer. As the viewer, you are rooting for the main character, you want the best for the main character. So if you’re the viewer of this movie (life), what would you want the main character to do? You’d want to see her get out of bed, see her step out of her comfort zone, pursue her dreams, stand up for herself, believe in herself and more. Because that’s what the main character deserves. That’s what you deserve.” Life changing for me.

Where do you think the next game changer will be in the music industry and entertainment scene?

I’m not really sure but I do feel like people are living for genre and media meshes. I think we all love so many different styles these days with how easily accessible music is so I think making music that is multi-genre but also multi-media  is gonna be a game changer. I mean, artists are already doing it by mixing music with shorts and original music into podcasts – shout out New Noise Podcast – so this is nothing new and earth shattering but I think that’s what the people want!