How I Came To Music 

"I inherited my musical taste mostly from my dad who loved to listen to bands such as ACDC, Black Sabbath, Eagles and Suzi Quatro around the house since I was little. I always loved to sing, even from the age of 6 I was adamant about singing for everybody that I met.... with encouragement from my mum. My mum was the catalyst behind helping me believe in my musical abilities, taking me to singing competitions all over the UK from the age of 8. Very quickly, my love for singing weaved in intrigue by my dad's hobby of  late night guitar playing and I yearned to learn. He taught me a few chords and with my already made up love for singing, I started to practice both together. I started to write songs at about 15, but always had music in my head. Soon after that, I took to busking on the streets of Belfast to share my music with the public. A few years of this led me to feel that music gave me a certain sense of purpose and healing, which I somewhat struggled to find before. I wasn't exactly sure why pursuing this vehicle of healing would be important, but I knew it would. 

At the age of 16, my life would change forever when I lost my mum to suicide. Without music and some understanding of healing, I am sure that I would feel completely lost. I feel that it's important to mention the loss of my mum, as it is for anybody to speak out about their life stories. For me, it's after her passing that my whole perspective shifted and this had a huge impact on my music as well as my inner self and personal life. Connection with others, especially through music became my comforting pillow to lay upon. Some say to me that my journey of pain, sadness, personal growth and healing is present in my voice when I sing.  Music is so cathartic for me so I suppose that makes sense. I now make it priority to remind my growing audiences how precious living is, how important it is to love ourselves and to get back up when we fall down. Opening and trusting our hearts is key. 

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In 2017 my band formed around me so naturally with help from my partner in crime Michael Mormecha.  After performing at lots of local Irish and UK shows we ventured out for our first European tour in Feb 2019...and I say 'we' because my band are an important part of what I do, without them I would be unable to express myself so freely on stage (2022 band: Michael Mormecha, Nolan Donnelly, Joseph Toman & Danny Trouton). Following that, I had performances at Glastonbury, Black Deer and Cambridge Folk Festival and three headline shows in Belfast, London and Dublin. The shows were highly charged emotions swung from happiness and smiles to audience members literally weeping. Just one day after the last headline show, I unbelievably made tracks to the East Coast of Australia to embark on a short run of dates with Australian artist William Crighton. This included Dashville Skyline Festival in Hunter Valley. 
 

Of course, covid happened then, and it seemed like all the building blocks that I'd started had been swiped away. But 2022 proved that just wasn't true! 2022 was filled with three tours (North, South Germany & Switzerland), 15 festivals and a lot of headline shows. 

Lots of amazing opportunities continue to unfold for me, and for this I am eternally grateful. Everything up to now feels like a bonus, it feels like a total dream. I'd like to inspire you by showing that I can live and create a life I love even after hard times. And you can too. With a little faith, a lot of rhythm and even more soul." 

- Amy Montgomery

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