Check Out Amy’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Amy.

Hi Amy, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My name is Amy McDonagh and I’m an Irish musician living in Los Angeles. Music has been a part of my life since I was a child, I started classical piano training at age 8 and picked up the guitar during the summer I turned 14. I’ve known since then that I’ve wanted to play music for the rest of my life. I spent most of my late teens and early 20s playing in a band while going to college for music, and setting up my own teaching practice in my hometown (which I no longer do). In 2019, I relocated to Los Angeles from Ireland, married my now husband and began properly pursuing my own music through posting on YouTube and other social media platforms. I’ve gained a following of 10k subscribers on YouTube and I hope it continues to grow as I make more content. I am currently working on my debut EP that is 100% independent that I’m planning to release early next year.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I’ve always had a lot of support from the people closest to me, so in some ways it has been somewhat smooth since I’ve always had the best support and people to lean on when things get challenging. Having said that, the road has not been easy and I’ve struggled throughout my adult life with pretty bad anxiety. It was particularly bad in my 20s, it’s much better now but I still have some challenges. I used to suffer with panic attacks and really bad stage fright, and I’ve had to work really hard on working through performance anxiety. It’s really tough when the thing you love most in the world is what’s bringing up the toughest obstacles to overcome. Playing music brings me so much joy but it also brought out the most vulnerable and insecure parts of me, and performing for people was extremely hard to do.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
My work right now is as an online musician. I make videos for my YouTube channel that are primarily about music and guitar, and I’ve also started singing in the last 5 years. My favorite type of content to make is where I cover a song, but I love to take the original song apart and see what makes it work: the vocals, the instruments, the production etc. Each time I go through that process I learn so many new things. Then I put the song together in my own way so that it sounds like me. I especially love to layer multiple guitar lines over each other and see what kinds of sound I can get, same thing with my voice.

What I am most proud of is how much I can make happen just by myself. I don’t consider myself the most skilled (I try my best!) but I am learning constantly. I used to always have to depend on others for their voices/vision, and now I’m in a place where I don’t have to do that. Sometimes other people have their own things going on in their lives and I’ve been let down a lot in the past. I’m most proud of the fact that I can put an entire song together, post online and people will enjoy it, and I don’t need to rely on anyone else in that process. I now find such a freedom in that.

I also occasionally make videos about Ireland and Irish culture, I am passionate about sharing where I come from with anyone who’s willing to watch.

If we knew you growing up, how would we have described you?
I was quite a shy/introverted kid, especially at school. I was quiet at school because I never knew how to show who I really was and feel safe. Unfortunately that continued pretty much right through my entire school life, but once I got home I became who I really am which is a bit more of a chatterbox when I’m around those I’m comfortable with. I was very much a “teacher-pleaser”, I liked making the adults around me happy and getting praise. I had a really happy childhood with my siblings, and I loved music, art, reading and playing outside.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.amymcdonagh.com (still being worked on and currently forwards to my merch store)
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/amymcguitar/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/amymcguitar/
• Twitter: https://x.com/amymcguitar
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@AmyMcDonaghGuitar
• Other: https://shop.amymcdonaghguitar.com/

Image Credits
Outside and garage photos by Halstan Williams. The rest are by Kevin McIntyre Photography.