Open Mic Night Spotlight: Isla Mae

Ahead of our Open Mic Night events we are promoting an exciting new artist who will be performing on the night.

Leading up to the next show on Thursday 3 October we caught up with Isla Mae, a singer-songwriter from South Cambridgeshire whose music spans across a range of genres. Isla spoke to us about her latest EP ‘Halfway to the Sun‘, her musical inspirations and what people can expect to hear when she performs live.

What’s your style of music?

I am a teenage singer-songwriter from South Cambridgeshire who tells stories through music ranging in style from Folk or Acoustic to Indie Pop. My songs have been likened to those of Lily Allen, Lucy Spraggan, KT Tunstall, Billie Eilish and Phoebe Bridgers and the lyrics are frequently described as mature beyond my years.

What inspires you?

I’m inspired to write songs that allow me to process my experiences and emotions as I find it’s an effective form of self-therapy. I also love the way that all forms of creative art have the ability to move audiences so I’m driven to share my songs in the hope that listeners will be able to relate to and find comfort in the lyrics.

What instruments do you use?

Most of my songs are written and played using acoustic guitar but I occasionally play electric guitar and am beginning to write songs more frequently using piano.

Any recently released music?

My second EP “Halfway to the Sun” was released on all streaming platforms in July 2024. Five of the songs were written, recorded and produced by me in my bedroom at home and the sixth song is a live recording of a performance I did at Cambridge Folk Club back in the spring. The songs convey the emotional journey I have been on during my teenage years so far including my experiences of imposter syndrome, self-doubt, anxiety and social discomfort. Two of the songs – “A letter to the Moon” and “Beautiful People” were picked up by Spotify to feature on their Fresh Finds Folk playlist and “A letter to the Moon” also finished as a UK/Ireland Top 5 Finalist in this year’s Song Academy Young Songwriter’s competition.

What’s your favourite song you’ve written so far?

This is a hard question to answer as my favourite song that I’ve written changes all the time. Typically, it will be the song I’ve most recently finished but that can soon fade during the repetitive recording process so then it will likely become the song that was best received at my most recent gig.

What’s your favourite song to perform?

The answer to this question depends on the nature of the audience I am performing to. In a small intimate setting such as a folk club, I really enjoy singing my slower more emotive songs such as “Til the morning” because the audience will invest in listening to every lyric which makes the hours put into creating the song so worthwhile. At a larger setting such as a festival, it’s always more enjoyable to play my upbeat tracks to get the audience moving so at the moment I’d say “Little Miss Lonely” is my favourite to play and I look forward to sharing it at Haverhill Arts Centre as it’s a track I haven’t previously played at Open Mic.

Listen to Isla’s music on Spotify HERE.

Don’t miss Isla’s performance at the next Haverhill Arts Centre Open Mic Night on Thursday 3 October.