Megan Henwood was a winner of the BBC Radio 2 Young Folk Awards 2009. She has just released a single which we have the pleasure of adding to our Roots stream here on Folk Radio UK. There is a purity about Megan’s singing that falls outside of genre tags. She is simply a great singer songwriter with a fantastic voice.
As a child growing up in Henley Megan was exposed to music at an early age watching her mother sing at nearby Nettlebed Folk Club and she developed an ear for a tune while listening at home to the likes of Abba and Queen. As she grew older she found inspiration from the songs of Bill Withers, Tracy Chapman, Bob Dylan, Anais Mitchell, Ralph McTell and Joan Armatrading, among others. Her first known appearance was on the Kenton Theatre stage at the Henley Festival where she performed one of her own songs at the tender age of 9! As a teenager her songwriting skills continued to develop and she formed her own band „Megan and the Boys‟ honing her craft on the local live circuit.
At eighteen she spent six months travelling where she paid her way playing guitar and singing to crowds in Venice, Thailand, India and Malaysia. It was during this time she fell in love with the people of Nepal and has since returned to Kathmandu twice to record with leading Nepalese musicians Nirmal Kulu, Binod Katal and Shyram Saram Nepali. Profits from her first single release were sent back to the charity “Child Action Nepal‟ to help the orphans of Kathmandu.
Back in the UK, between songwriting and performing Megan regularly contributes to music therapy sessions for people with learning difficulties.
These experiences have had a profound effect on her songwriting. Her powerful, poignant and often witty lyrics are woven around wonderful timeless pop melodies and demonstrate a depth and maturity far beyond her 21 years. Megan and her brother Joe, 16, (a hugely talented sax player) won this year‟s BBC RADIO 2 Young Folk Award beating off strong competition in the final at Queen Elizabeth Hall on London‟s South Bank, just before her 21st birthday. Megan has since begun work on her forthcoming debut album, “Making Waves”. From these early recordings the new single is taken; two wonderfully crafted songs featuring Peter Knight (Steeleye Span) on fiddle, Barriemore Barlow (Jethro Tull) on drums and Mollie Marriott (daughter of Steve) on BV‟s.
This first single is available now through all good download stores to coincide with a hectic summer festival schedule. Megan has appeared at CROPREDY, THE CAMBRIDGE FOLK FESTIVAL, THE SECRET GARDEN PARTY, TOWERSEY VILLAGE FESTIVAL, WARWICK FOLK FESTIVAL, SIDMOUTH FOLK FESTIVAL, with more dates scheduled through the year.