Mankato singer Mal Murphy to release “Grow Up”
Mal Murphy, a songwriter and singer from Mankato, will release her first album, “Grow Up,” Dec. 13, 14, and 16. On these dates she will perform in Mankato.
“My inspiration for music mostly came from my mother, Tracy. Although a lot of my family members are musical, my mother and I have the most similar taste in music. That is probably because I grew up listening to her music, which was a combination of Ani DiFranco, The Cure, Neil Young, The Indigo Girls, The Decemberists, The Beatles, and many more. I grew up singing because my mother was always singing, so it came naturally to also sing myself, and then later on I taught myself to play the guitar on her guitar from when she was young.
“I first taught myself a few chords on the ukulele when I was around 14 or 15 years old, and then a few months later, taught myself the guitar. I got good enough at guitar and singing at the same time once I was introduced to the musician, Brandi Carlile. I learned the guitar by watching Brandi’s live concerts on YouTube and mimicking her hands on my own guitar. I never learned to read music, and still can’t. If I want to follow along to a new song I often use the phrase ‘let me see their hands’ so I can mimic them. It wasn’t until I met my current musician friends that I learned that each hand shape I knew from Brandi Carlile’s hands, was a different note. Once I could play and sing at the same time, I played my first open mic at The Bluebird Cakery, which is now RiverRock in Mankato when I was 17 or so. After high school, I played all the open mics I could find until I booked my first official gig at the Coffee Hag in 2018. So, I have been playing music for live audiences for about five years.
“My inspiration to release “Grow Up” came a lot from the artist Jade Bird. I am a huge fan of that spunky British singer, and in a lot of ways, see myself in her. Jade released her first EP ‘Something American’ at 20 years old. Once I learned this, I thought ‘That means I can do it too.’”
Nate Boots and Scott Helgerson were also a big reason this EP was created. They were the first people to show me how recording works, and once we recorded a song or two, it only made sense to put together an EP to release to the public.”
As said at the beginning of this article, Mal will be in Mankato to perform and release the album. On the 13th, she will be at the Arts Center of Saint Peter at 7 pm, on the 14th, she will be at the 410 Project at 7 p.m., and on the 16th, she will be at the Wine Cafe at 7 pm.
Write to Ellie Meschke at eleanor.meschke@my.normandale.edu
Header Photo: Mal Murphy, a songwriter and singer from Mankato, will be releasing her first album, “Grow Up” on December 13th, with performances in town to follow. (Courtesy Mal Murphy)