Holly Macve: 2017

Holly Macve might have been born in Galway, Ireland, and raised in rural England, but her yearning, wistful vocals are firmly entrenched in classic country western and bluegrass, a style more suited to the hills of Kentucky than the Yorkshire moors of her youth.

The now Brighton-based singer and guitarist released her debut album, Golden Eagle, in the spring of 2017 when she was only 21. It’s a collection of songs partly inspired by the passage of childhood and the death of her beloved grandfather, a classical composer. Macve's stormy ballads possess a maturity that belies her youth: she can break hearts with the plaintive twang and catch of her voice.

When Macve visited FUV’s Studio A, she played two of her beautiful ballads — “Timbuktu” and “No One Has The Answer.” She spoke about her past as a struggling artist and café waitress and her serendipitous encounter with Bella Union co-founder Simon Raymonde and his wife Abbey — a friendship that began over scrambled eggs, segued to an open mic night, and eventually led to a record deal.

[recorded: 5/17/17]