Page 9 - ION Indie Magazine SeptOct 2024

Coming Into Her Confidence

Molly Grace has been a performer since before
she was 10 years old, bringing classmates to
her impromptu stage on the playground in
elementary school, and writing her own rhymes
that would go on to be the start of something
huge for the little celebrity.

“I used to make up cute songs on the
playground,” the pop star giggled, “I’d have to
let my fourth-grade fans down by telling them I
couldn’t perform at their birthday parties
because I was busy writing music and being a
small business owner.”

For her tenth birthday, Grace received her first
guitar, and from that moment, the dream was
solidified in her mind.

“I learned the basic four chords on my new
guitar and started seriously writing music from
that moment on,” she said. “I was always a
huge Taylor Swift fan as a little girl, and I still
am! She inspired a lot of my writing throughout
middle and high school, but when I went to
college, I really saw this as my future and
started releasing music!”

Grace’s first song released on streaming
platforms, ‘Here I Am,’ dropped on March 5,
2021, and while her sound has certainly shifted
to a more polished and confident level of
performativity today, elements of her original
sound can still be heard in her new releases.
Grace leans into the sound and rhythm that
shapes funk, soul, and R&B, which certainly
radiates in her stage persona.

“It took me a little bit to build this stage
presence and persona,” Grace confided. “My
music has obviously evolved since 2021, and I
feel like I've finally settled into the most
authentic 'Molly Grace' persona. My on-stage
persona is pretty true to who I am offstage, just
a little bit more animated because it's on stage
and larger than life.”

While confidence seems to be of no shortage
for the singer now, she didn’t use to feel so
comfortable on the stage. A brief encounter
with stage fright was something Grace was
dedicated to ensuring she didn’t experience it
again.