If you haven’t heard Megan Washington’s music, now is your time to take a few minutes to digest it. This song is called ‘Holy Moses’ and was released in 2011.
Megan Washington is a pretty big name in Australia, but for reasons unbeknownst to me, she hasn’t made the leap across the Pacific, despite living in New York for a time. In Australia, she plays before huge audiences of thousands of fans, her music topping the charts there.
Washington was born in Papua New Guinea and moved to Australia when she was ten. She began playing jazz music, but has since transitioned to her current style, mixing pop and alternative rock.
But my most favorite part of her story is something that you’d never guess for a pretty big pop star who spends her life on stage. Washington has a severe stutter that hampers her ability to hold conversations. She’s had it her whole life. But when she sings, the stutter goes away, she says.
She talked about it on the stage at a TEDx event in Sydney, and talked about it later with Guy Raz on the TED Radio Hour for NPR. Here’s the section of her conversation about it:
And just because I really want you to hear her great music, I’m including another one of her music videos here, too. The one below is called “Sunday Best,” but I highly encourage you to watch her exceptionally inventive videos, particularly ‘Clementine’ (based off the old American western song, ‘Oh My Darling, Clementine’) and ‘Halloween.’
Megan Washington is in need of a leap across the great pond from Australia. (Photo credit: ELLE Australia)