The Frederick Fair is a marvelous place for the community to come together and enjoy food, rides, games, and, music all in one place- but, it makes everything better the moment a former Tuscarora student is the one performing! Mehkare Merson is a local singer-songwriter who loves her ukulele and is enrolled in the Rock School program since she was thirteen. From that point on, she has improved and excelled as a performer! So much so that she was able to perform at the Great Frederick Fair this Thursday, singing songs such as; Frost Fear, Drowning, Tides, Little Black Submarines by The Black Keys, and, Back Against the Wall by Cage the Elephant.  

     After her performance, we were able to get an interview with the sweetheart of a star! When we started the interview, we decided we wanted to know where she started from- what had gotten her into writing and performing music. According to Mehkare, her career in music had started off when she was younger after being inspired by Amy Winehouse and her dad, “[She] always liked to sing, but Amy’s music inspired [her] to write.” And as you’ll be able to tell from her songs, she is an astounding songwriter! With a lovely melodic voice to pair her words with, but how does she stay motivated and manage to write these beautiful tunes? When asked, Mehkare expressed that, for her, “writing and playing is more therapeutic than for [her]! [She’s] motivated by needing to express [herself].” So, if she’s ever upset or excited, she’ll write something.

     When we asked her about her writing process, she described it by saying that she’ll, “usually find chords [she likes] or [she’ll] mess around with random instruments on Garageband.” Then, once she has a base for her song, she’ll start writing lyrics. The description of her style of music is self-described as “indie and genre-less,” and whenever she does covers rather than her originals, she’s fond of Cage the Elephant or Velvet Underground.

     Finally, we were curious if there were any artists who continue to inspire her and who they were if she had any. Mehkare said that the artists who inspire her are Lou Reed, Amy Winehouse, and Julian Casablancas due to the fact that they are, “great writers and have cool chord progressions.” She told us that, “hearing their music reminds [her] why [she likes] writing so much.” And when you listen to her music, you can hear how they may influence her writing and structuring of chords.

     Mehkare is a wonderful singer-songwriter and if you enjoyed this video of her performance, you can check out more of her music on her SoundCloud under ‘mehkare merson’!