Mackenzie Burke is a 21-year-old pop singer/songwriter who grew up in Sherfield-on-Loddon and has recently released her debut single – What Was It Like?
CommunityAd sat down with the up and coming artist whose music is described as ‘A combination of catchy hooks, supported by groovy pop synths that could easily fit into the market today’ (Matthew Twaites) to find out a little bit more about the personality behind the music.
Often likened to Avril Lavigne, Olivia Rodrigo and Taylor Swift, Mackenzie has already got a catalogue of experience under her belt, headlining The Boileroom in Guildford, and the NEC Birmingham, where she was a finalist at the Open Mic UK competition’s Grand Final and won ‘Best Original Song’.
Mackenzie Burke, a lover of Star Wars, Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter, is fresh off of a BA Hons Degree in Music Business and we asked about some of her earliest experiences in music and where she found the passion to turn it into a career:
“When I was younger, I was painfully shy so my mum put me in Stagecoach to try and give me some confidence. I took to it like a fish in water. I loved performing. I went on to multiple stage schools like Italia Conti and GSA until the age of 14 when I realised, I didn’t want to do musical theatre I wanted to write and perform my own songs.
“I never continuously made the decision to do it for a career. I feel like I love music and am so passionate about it I will always pursue it. Making it the main objective in my life just seemed to kind of happen. I almost feel like there isn’t really another option when you love something that much.”
Can you talk to us about your song and music video What Was It Like and what it means to you?
“This song means a lot to me. I wrote it in the second lockdown when I was really struggling mentally. The song was a message to myself to make a change in my life, to get help and stop waiting for it to ‘pass’ or someone else to come and save me.
“I had never struggled with my mental health before that time and it was a real shock. I had no idea how to cope with it. So, as usual, I wrote a song about it instead! I named it ‘What Was It Like?’ because I thought if someone would ask me what that time was like for me, I could just show them this song.
“Filming the video was so much fun! I did it with Ryan Forrest from Enhanced Media. He was amazing and really understood the vision I had for the video. I wanted to capture the disassociation and frustration that I felt at the time and I feel that Ryan did a great job with that.”
If you could perform any song of your choice with any artist of your choice who would it be and why?
“Either Yellow by Coldplay with Coldplay or Heroes by David Bowie with David Bowie (But I’m definitely not cool enough to even breathe the same air as Bowie).”
If you were stuck on a desert island and could only listen to three albums what would they be?
Folklore – Taylor Swift.
SOUR – Olivia Rodrigo.
Royal Blood – Royal Blood.
Do you have any music releasing in 2022 that our readers should be aware of?
“Yes, I do! I have lots of music ready to go for the new year, follow my Instagram, Facebook and TikTok @mackenzieburkemusic for all gig and music release updates and announcements.”