Bill MacKay is an artist of different river flows and yet they all run alongside each other side each other making a powerful and beautiful musical river. With aspects from Avant-Garde jazz to folk and rock, MacKay has always created music that represents who he is. “I couldn’t help myself being myself from coming out when I was writing.”

MacKay is a musician based out of Chicago. Alongside his solo work, he has been part of many acclaimed bands such as Darts & Arrows, Broken Things, and his recent collaboration with Ryley Walker in “SpiderBeetleBee”. His new album “Esker” is out now, produced by Drag City Records.

Recently I got the chance to talk to Mackay and ask a few questions about his past, present and album

As I walked down the Hill from E Prentiss St. to interview MacKay, I was nervous. This was my first interview for Ozzy’s Spotlight and MacKay seems like a very intimidating artist.

Once we were sitting down at a local venue to discuss his recent album, career, and influences, I was welcomed by a warm, gentle, amount of earnest that I have never encountered before from an artist. During an interview with a vegan mushroom quesadilla and Billie Holiday playing through the speakers, I got a great connection with Bill.

MacKay spoke about growing up listening a wide spectrum of music. “I really like hybrids of things.” That showed true when he later told me the names of artists who have truly spoken to him. MacKay always admired Chopin, John & Alice Coltrane, Laura Nyro, Jimi Hendrix, and their beautiful melodic music.

MacKay definitely shows influences from Hendrix in his work. “I always think of the improv pieces in a compositional way,” says MacKay.

The melodious grooves that are MacKay creates are fascinating. You can hear the human element to his songs. When I asked MacKay how he approaches an album, he explained how he goes into a studio with a very hard set of blueprints he wants to put on an album to have complete fidelity over them.

“Mistakes aren’t necessarily mistakes, they’re just off roads that you take in the moment.” He spoke about how that some of the best elements that come from music are the ones that weren’t planned or rehearsed, but simply came out due to the moment.

MacKay explained the “Human Element” in music further. “I’m getting to a stage where I’m learning those things … they just tingle your mind and endure more often.” He is excited to go into each album with a sense of safety, but to also be open to all the new and opportunistic moments that come with them. “The more you get away from that safety the more things open up.”

MacKay is a skilled guitarist and wise soul at this point in his life. With a long and acclaimed resume, this Jazz, folk, and rock artist has an exciting and bright future. I must end on a note that being open to new things always helps create exciting changes in one’s life. I will be an fan excited to follow MacKay’s future.

For music from Bill MacKay, see the links below.

Powder Mill Park 

Bill MacKay & Ryley Walker “Lonesome Traveler”

Nelsonville Music Festival 2018: Bill MacKay

The post Ozzy’s Spotlight: Bill MacKay Interview appeared first on KRUI Radio.

Last Thursday night, the Trumpet Blossom Café welcomed Bill MacKay back to Iowa City for the second time. MacKay took the stage with his arsenal of blues/folk/rock blend songs and expressed resonate sound that echoed through the open celling’s of the Trumpet Blossom. With the lights dim and the crowd watching while enjoying their friends and drinks, this venue made for a great intimate environment for music.

MacKay is an artist based out of Chicago. He has collaborated with many artists and helped form many noteworthy bands and artist such as Darts & Arrows, Broken Things, and Ryley Walker in SpiderBeetleBee. I sat down with MacKay and had an excellent conversation about music and his experiences as a artist that will soon be dropping as one of my “Ozzy’s Spotlight” Columns for KRUI in the next few days.

MacKay is currently touring a few dates for his new album, released on Drag City Records, Esker. The new album is a beautiful blend of all the parts that helped influence MacKay in his music and to hear it played aloud in a live format was a very memorable experience.

MacKay’s skills on the guitar were something I was truly taken back by. It was smooth and elegant and yet the sound that came from it was robust and full of melodious grooves that help create a world made of just his music and the venue. It was awe-inspiring to watch an artist who really knows their craft perform it in front of you. This concert was an intimate and subtle performance but that’s what makes it so memorable. MacKay wouldn’t want it any other way.

MacKay’s set consisted of old songs and new, but due to his being alone on this date, the only instruments being used were his voice and his guitar. That made it for a more primal and close affair.

Seeing an artist truly take a stage by themselves in something that shows a side to them which helps you see the musicality and power brought to their music. MacKay definitely had that power to showcase when performing as a solo act.

I must mention the local artist opening the show, Vero Rose Smith, whose opening set included such raw and original music about both her past and the present. She commented on the importance of hearing voices, especially women’s voices, in our society. Her songs and comments really rung true after the events of the current Judge Conformation hearing.

MacKay’s music can be found for sale on Drag City’s website or on his own website. They can also be found on Apple Music and Spotify.

A few links to Bill MacKay’s Music that can be found below:

Powder Mill Park 

Bill MacKay & Ryley Walker “Lonesome Traveler”

Nelsonville Music Festival 2018: Bill MacKay

The post Bill MacKay @ Trumpet Blossom Café 9/27/18 appeared first on KRUI Radio.