Mackenzie Scott

If one thing can be said regarding the work of Mackenzie Scott it is that each of her songs is undeniably,
painfully, and wonderfully honest.

Hit& Run is the most recent EP to come from Scott, a Belmont Junior originally from Macon, Georgia.
The EP found its namesake in a lyric from “Moon and Back”, a song on the EP. The track details the very
personal story of Scott’s own adoption from the perspective of her birth mother.

Scott explained that the song pulls its inspiration from a journal she was given by her mother when she
graduated from high school. The journal was written by her birth mother while she was pregnant with
Scott.

“It was completely news to me. I didn’t even know that it existed and when she gave it to me I read the
whole thing in a night. I wrote moon and back from my birth mothers perspective.”

“Moon and Back”, like most of Scott’s work, comes from a “somber” place and is sure to pull crates of
emotion from listeners. This reaction is only possible due to the way that Scott makes her own life so
visible through her lyrics. Her desire to create something true and accessible is easily detected within
the music which she produces. Everything from her favorite show style, house-shows, to her recording
dream, an entire album recorded live, actualizes her genuine passion for intimacy with her listeners.

“I hope after people hear my music that they feel like they can relate and they feel like, that I told the
truth. I just know that whenever I find an artist like that it makes me feel connected, like I’m not alone.
I would just really like for people to come out of it [a show] feeling like they are not alone,” explained
Scott about her dream reaction to her music.

It is crucial to not mistake Scott’s raw honesty for an easy way out or even simplicity. Rather, her style
is meticulous and she is an artist who is constantly striving to “stay above par”. For Scott, this includes
occasional bouts of seclusion where nights locked in a room alone are the only response to the desire to
create and improve. She spent a year when she came to Belmont solidifying countless details involved
with her music.

“I was figuring out who I wanted to be as an artist…everything not just musically but style wise and
what kind of instrumentation I wanted to have in my band.”

Currently, Scott is accompanied by violin, cello, banjo, as well as male and female harmonies. Still, Scott
laments the process of avoiding the label of “female singer-songwriter”. This label always seems to
be lurking close simply because she is a girl with an acoustic guitar, far from a rarity in Nashville-TN.
However, her diligence in creating a well established sound shields her from this label. Her music is not
easily described as it evades simplification. Her songs are full in sound and the fact that the artist has
been playing instruments her entire life (piano followed by flute and eventually guitar) is obvious in the
attention paid to the crafting and performing of her music. Attention to detail, overwhelming honesty
and Scott’s powerful voice diving and climbing between smoky lows and sweet highs, – is the lethal
combination which makes her music irresistible.

Even so, Scott remains very humble when discussing her music and her goals. What is most important to

her seems to be the fact that someone is moved by what she has to say.

“If I can touch a handful of people with something that they feel connected to I would so much rather it
be that than a radio hit or something that’s on a more popular scale,” says Mackenzie of what matters
to her regarding music.

For this reason, Scott has the ability to penetrate the insecurities and walls that any listener may have.
In that the songwriter does more than just provide enjoyable music but rather she shares an experience
with her audience, a genuine, bone baring, and honest experience.

Mackenzie Scott can be found on facebook, bandcamp, and soundcloud under her own name. She has
released several music projects and is currently recording her first live album.