A woman of many talents, Meghann Wright has dabbled in virtually every area of the
arts. As a young girl, Meghann started out with classical instruments like piano and the
violin. She then fell in love with the saxophone, which became her main instrument for
roughly a decade.
Surprisingly though, music was never Meghann’s true focus in the beginning. She
originally spent most of her energies on visual arts; including theatre, drawing, and
video production. However, at the end of high school and going into college, the
independent music scene grabbed her attention.
“I wanted to start playing in bands with my friends,” Meghann remembers. “Mostly I
was just playing bass and guitar… and then I went through a couple different bands, and
then I found myself actually wanting to write songs myself.”
The unique sound Meghann wanted to craft for her own music didn’t fit in with any of
the other music projects she was working on, so she decided to make music on her own,
and has been doing it ever since.
In spite of her ties to Hawaii and New York, Meghann’s eclectic love for music took on a
lot of inspirations and turned it into her own southern sound. “I really appreciate music
from that area,” she says of the south. “A lot of people don’t know this, but people in
Hawaii listen to a lot of country music… and I grew up listening to all kinds of
songwriters as well.”
Some of the music she remembers being exposed to include David Bowie, Prince, and
Nirvana. However, of all the artists Meghann admires, Dolly Parton tops the list. “I
admire her so much as a person, a performer, and a songwriter,” Meghann gushes. “I
actually have this secret hope that she would cover my song ‘Can’t Carry Water’. I would
definitely love the opportunity to work with her.”
Meghann also greatly admires her band-mates, who take the time out of playing in other
groups, to tour with her around America. Her bassist, Eva Lawitts plays in three other
bands – Caretaker, Sister Helen, and Vagabond. And both her guitarist and drummer,
Sonny Ratcliff and Andrew Nesbitt, play together in a New York based indie band called
Morning Sea.
Meghann’s support of fellow musicians doesn’t stop at shoot-outs to band-mates
though. In 2012, she started the City and the Heart project to help other artists to
navigate their way around the New York music scene. She also helped female musicians
to record demos, so they can reach a wider audience.
Meghann then turned the community of female artists she had built into a unanimous
feminist cause, releasing a record together, which was produced by Will Hensley.
Hensley is well-known for working with musicians like Coldplay, John Mayer, The Fray,
Shakira, and MUTEMATH.
The proceeds from selling the album then went to Safe Horizon, an organization for
helping domestic abuse victims. In fact, Meghann has always been drawn to the
opportunity to create change. This is not just with regards to women’s rights, but with
regards to politics, race relations, and other burning issues.
Meghann, who is half Irish and half Mexican, grew up as a minority in Hawaii. “When
you’re a little kid and you’re growing up very different from all the other little kids,
things tend to be a little challenging.” Nevertheless, this helped shape Meghann’s
outlook on what it means for minorities on the mainland who face that challenge every
day.
An outspoken woman, Meghann shares, “I definitely understand what everyone is going
through and I find any kind of bigotry and prejudice to be reprehensible.”
A musician on a mission to change the world, Meghann definitely does far more than
just pay lip service, and is well on her way to creating a wake of change wherever she
goes.
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