Biography
'New Artist of the Year' and 'Modern Rock Vocalist' Wammie winner, Margot wowed them at the 2009 Washington Area Music Awards “with her fierce-playing bandmates, revealing formidable vocal strength and emotional depth in her powerful heartrending ballad 'Hold On' that segued into a spine-tingling cover of Led Zeppelin’s 'Immigrant Song'." This was just a teaser for the music on the teen's 2009 album release, WALLS. Breaking news: Margot is a first round GRAMMY nominee for Best Rock Vocal Performance (Immigrant Song) and Best Album of the Year (WALLS).
Margot dove into music at a young age. After smash reviews for her first song, Compy the Littlest Dinosaur, in her 2nd grade class, there was no looking back! She took piano lessons and performed with the World Children’s Choir. By the time she was 10 Margot was singing professionally with the Washington National Opera, the Wolf Trap Opera Company, and other musical theatre productions. However it was the events of 9/11 that prompted her recording career. To raise donations for America’s Fund for Afghan Children, Margot wrote and recorded the song Imagine There's a World. She found herself on the world stage performing for royalty and heads of state.
Margot's early songs landed in the lap of John Jennings, the producer-guitarist best known for his Grammy Award winning work with Mary Chapin Carpenter. At the age of 12 Margot released her 2004 debut album, Rising. She dedicated it to a school friend and donated proceeds to the Childhood Leukemia Foundation. Along the way the young teen picked up the guitar and also attended the Duke Ellington School of the Arts.
Margot's 2007 sophomore album, Torn, received many accolades: "They say kids don't listen to the radio anymore, but teenager Margot MacDonald has somehow absorbed all the lessons of Top 40 female vocalists for the past 30 years. Her growls and yowls and wails embody the heritage of everyone from Stevie Nicks to Whitney Houston to Sheryl Crow. Amazingly this is her second album, issued when she was 15, and backing her voice with a lot of straightforward hard rock guitar." -OnTap Magazine
Margot tours with her band as well as a solo acoustic artist. Her career thus far has put her on stage with notable artists such as Eddie Kowalczyk (of Live), Dennis DeYoung, Cher, Lionel Richie, Josh Groban, David Foster, The Corrs, Chuck Berry, Marc Anthony, Brian McKnight, Jessica Simpson, Chic, Judy Collins, Placido Domingo, Forever the Sickest Kids, and Boys Like Girls. In DC Margot has performed at the Wolf Trap Filene Center, Strathmore Hall, Kennedy Center, the Birchmere, Lincoln Theatre, the State Theatre, IOTA, Jammin’ Java, Rams Head Live!, etc. and has played at national festivals and events. Margot is also a recent Artist-In-Residence with the Music Center at Strathmore.
Through her music Margot supports many social causes such as City of Hope, Peace Drum, Hope Line, and DC Music for Relief and performs at many charity events. Margot is also on the Board of Directors of the Songwriters’ Association of Washington, volunteers for the Washington Area Music Association, and has led Grammy U and other songwriting workshops.
Stay tuned for more from this rockin' teen!
Instrumentation
MARGOT MacDONALD - vox, guitar, keys
ROCK:
K.C. Hatton - guitar
Ken Barnum - bass, vox
Steve Cohen - drums
Joe Nelson - guitar
ACOUSTIC:
K.C. Hatton - guitar
Danny Schwartz - cajon, vox
Jean Finstad - upright bass
Discography
WALLS - 2009 LP #3
Torn - 2007 sophomore LP
Christmas - 2007 EP
Rising - 2004 debut album
Diamond in the Rough - 2008 compilation CD for Nonprofit Promotions
Artomatic 2008 - compilation CD
Artomatic 2007 - compilation CD
DC Rockers for Life - 2007 compilation CD for Ground Control
Liberty/Who's to Blame? - 2006 singles w/Op-Critical
Imagine There's a World - 2002 single
With One Voice - 2001 World Children's Choir
Links
| http://www.MargotMacDonald.com |
| Margot's MySpace |
| Margot's YouTube |
| Margot's Facebook |
| Margot's Twitter |
| Margot's ReverbNation |