This month our resident music editor Paul Dunton chats to rising star Marie White about her music, winning Glastonbury’s Emerging Music Award, touring with Keane and playing the Royal Albert Hall ahead of her gig at Trinity Theatre on October 7.
Tunbridge Wells is blessed with an abundance of creative music talent from up and coming singer-songwriters to numerous emerging bands spanning a wealth of styles and genres.
But one artist who has really broken through and taken her career to new heights is Tunbridge Wells resident Marie White. Originally hailing from Hastings, Marie has been performing on the local Tunbridge Wells music scene for nearly 10 years now and two years ago decided to move and base herself in Tunbridge Wells.
At the age of 16 Marie made her debut at The Grey Lady Music Lounge and I was absolutely spellbound by her beautifully crafted songs and incredible voice. She is an incredibly soulful performer and writes heartfelt honest songs. Listening to her perform, there are shades of Joan Armatrading, Carole King and Tracy Chapman within her writing – and maybe even hints of Norah Jones – but having said that Marie really does have her own unique style and sound that has to be seen to be believed.
Marie performs all over the UK but can often be enjoyed at The Grey Lady, Trinity Theatre and The Local & Live Music Festival where she has previously headlined in Calverley Grounds.
Three years ago in 2019 Marie entered the Glastonbury Emerging Music Award competition and the year proved to be a breakthrough one for her. After submitting a selection of her songs, she battled through various heats and made it to the final where she had to perform in front of leading industry persons including Glastonbury founder Michael Eavis himself!
At the final Marie was up first, she was the only soloist and she was performing against an array of four and five piece bands. However she absolutely stunned the audience with her performance of her song ‘Blue Jumper’ leading Michael Eavis to say…”There was only one winner and it had to be Marie!”
The prize for winning this coveted award was a primetime slot on the Pyramid stage at Glastonbury where Marie performed to thousands of festival goers to great acclaim. Marie also performed on the BBC Introducing stage and following Glastonbury she was invited to tour with Keane throughout the summer including the tour’s finale at The Royal Albert Hall. Marie has gone on to work with Elbow’s Guy Garvey and her song ‘I am You’ is now part of the official soundtrack for the TV series ‘Trying’ which is featured on Apple TV.
I recently had the opportunity to sit down with Marie to discuss all things music related including her up coming gig at Trinity Theatre…
What are your favourite venues to play locally?
I have grown up playing the Grey Lady and Trinity Theatre, The Forum and Local & Live but it’s at The Grey Lady where it really started for me in Tunbridge Wells, so I feel like it’s my home venue really. I love playing there.
What are your fondest memories of Glastonbury in 2019?
Glastonbury is the greatest festival in the world so to achieve the dream of playing the Pyramid stage at such an early stage of my career was really unexpected. It was completely life changing and the most incredible experience. The crowd was huge and the atmosphere was unbelievable, sometimes I had to pinch myself to believe it was really happening. It led to signing to Universal, airplay on BBC Radio 1, touring all summer with Keane and playing at The Royal Albert Hall. It was certainly a summer that I will never forget.
You perform regularly alongside your partner Em, who performs on piano and vocals, do you ever write songs together?
Years ago I used to write completely on my own but nowadays I feel like I have more of an open mind and have really enjoyed many co-writing experiences ever since. Doing so allows you to push creative boundaries and try new things. It’s all about exploring new ideas and sharing creative output. Em and I really enjoy writing together, she is an amazing musician and aside from our personal connection we also share a natural music chemistry. Often I will go to her with an initial song idea and we can develop it together.
How would you describe your musical style?
I would say Soulful Pop is a fairly accurate description of my music with an emphasis on honest heartfelt storytelling. Someone once told me I could be the love child of Tracy Chapman and Lewis Capaldi which was a very lovely complement! Growing up I felt very inspired
by my mum’s collection of 70s and 80s disco and soul music and also my dad’s classic rock collection.
Tell us about your forthcoming gig at Trinity Theatre on Oct 7th
We love performing at Trinity, there is something magical about that theatre, it’s a beautiful building, which has a lovely positive vibe and good energy. . On October 7, people can expect a whole gamut of emotions, exciting new songs, plenty of laughter and maybe some tears. I strive to take audiences on a journey at gigs and really connect with them. My hope is that people can relate to my songs and feel inspired by my melodies and lyrics. I will bring bucket loads of atmosphere and positive energy so please come along and enjoy the show!
Marie White is performing at Trinity Theatre on Friday Oct 7
Tickets are available at www.trinitytheatre.net
Follow Marie on social media @mariewhitemusic
