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Meg Allison’s “Old Soul” Named May “Best Song Of The Month”
By Dale Kawashima
Meg Allison, a talented, young pop/rock singer/songwriter
based in Chicago, IL, has won the SongwriterUniverse “Best Song Of The Month”
Contest for May, for her song “Old Soul.” This song is included on her 12-song
CD, Missing Piece, which she released independently in November 2005.
Meg Allison performing live.
“Old Soul” is a thoughtfully-written, modern pop/rock cut,
which uniquely combines an organic, soul/blues style with a contemporary rock
edge. The lyric is sung from the perspective of a young artist who is mature
beyond her years, due to events and experiences in her life. The recording was
skillfully produced by Chris Keup of Charlottesville, VA, who is known for
working with prominent singer/songwriters Jason Mraz and Jonathan Rice.
Allison grew up in Evanston, IL (a suburb of Chicago), and
she got into music at a young age. She began playing piano at age 6, and later
on she learned to play guitar. Allison started to write songs when she was 16,
and she was influenced by acclaimed acoustic/folk artists such as the Indigo
Girls and Patty Griffin. Following high school, she attended the University of
Indiana, then transferred to the University of Miami of Ohio, where she
graduated with a B.A. in Mass Communications.
After college, Allison began focusing on her songwriting and
her artist career, and she steadily performed live gigs. She released her first
CD called Just Getting My Feet Wet in 2003, which was a compilation of
her recordings to date. Then she contacted producer Chris Keup, who invited her
to work with him at his studio in Charlottesville. Allison subsequently
recorded her full Missing Piece CD with Keup, and he ended up co-writing
six of the songs with her for the album.
Meg Allison
Allison did write “Old Soul” by herself, and she explained
what the song was about. “’Old Soul’ was inspired by her older sister, Emily, who
is disabled (with brain damage). She’s been a huge inspiration my whole life.
Growing up with my sister, I had to grow up faster than I normally would have.
It forced me to mature faster, but in a positive way. It also made me realize
that I’m on earth to do my music – there’s no reason not to pursue my dreams.”
Now with the release of her Missing Piece CD, Allison
is promoting the album aggressively. She has secured internet radio play for
the album, and she has been performing gigs in Chicago, New York City and Los
Angeles. She also played this March at the South bySouthwest Festival (SXSW) in Austin, TX. Allison will be
performing at other festivals this summer, and she also hopes to land a music
publishing deal.