Melanie Faye

Last updated

Melanie Faye
Born (1998-05-16) May 16, 1998 (age 26)
OccupationGuitarist
Years active2016–present
Website melaniefaye

Melanie Faye (born May 16, 1998), is an American R&B [1] musician and social media personality. She became known after a video of her guitar playing on Instagram went viral in the summer of 2017. [2] [3] She has since performed with artists such as Noname [4] and Mac Demarco. [5] [6] She was a featured artist at the NAMM Show.

Contents

Early life and education

Born in Huntsville, Alabama and raised in a Jehovah's Witness household by chemist parents, [7] Faye began writing songs at an early age. Her family moved to Nashville, Tennessee when she was three, and in the third grade she won a music competition run by the Country Music Hall of Fame. [4] She credits her fascination with becoming a musician from learning how to play Guitar Hero in middle school. She got her first guitar a year later "trading in her Xbox controller for the real thing." [8] [3] She studied jazz guitar at the performing arts high school Nashville School of the Arts. [7] Faye had "idolized Mariah Carey when I was a little girl," and started writing songs when she was 19. [3]

Career

Faye's guitar skills came to prominence in the summer of 2017 when SZA retweeted a 2016 video of Faye playing her sky blue Fender Stratocaster. Amassing a large number of followers and receiving critical acclaim, she dropped out of school to pursue music full-time. [4] She cites Jimi Hendrix, Michael Jackson, and Eric Gale as major influences on her playing style, which varies between R&B, neo-soul, and funk. She has performed nationwide with associated soul and R&B acts such as Noname, Bibi McGill, Masego, and Dammo. She was featured on the cover of She Shreds magazine, [9] and was chosen by Fender to demo the Player Series of guitars. [10] [11] Faye sees her guitar playing as a role model for others: "I want more people who don't necessarily listen to rock to also play guitar." [8]

Discography

Singles

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References

  1. ↑ Johnson, Hailey (21 March 2018). "An Interview with Melanie Faye: R&B Artist On the Rise". Affinity Magazine.
  2. ↑ Starling, Lakin (3 August 2017). "Melanie Faye's Divine Guitar Skills Will Make You Cry". The Fader . Retrieved 7 March 2018.
  3. 1 2 3 "Q&A: Melanie Faye | TUNED UP". 10 November 2022. Retrieved 24 October 2023.
  4. 1 2 3 Blackman, Rachel (8 January 2018). "Striking A Chord With Melanie Faye". These Days News. Retrieved 7 March 2018.
  5. ↑ Helman, Peter (12 April 2018). "Mac DeMarco & Melanie Faye – "Eternally 12"". Stereogum . Billboard-Hollywood Reporter Media Group. Retrieved 13 June 2018.
  6. ↑ Britton, Luke (1 May 2018). "Mac DeMarco's new track 'Eternally 12' is a super smooth slow jam". NME. Retrieved 13 June 2018.
  7. 1 2 Paulson, Dave (19 May 2018). "Guitar Hero". The Tennessean. Vol. 114, no. 139. USA Today Network. pp. 1A, 16A. Retrieved 13 June 2018.
  8. 1 2 "Watch Melanie Faye Demo the Player Series Stratocaster". www.fender.com. Retrieved 24 October 2023.
  9. ↑ Reyna, Fabi (February 2018). "Melanie Faye". She Shreds. No. 14. pp. 42–51.
  10. ↑ DeBord, Matthew (19 June 2018). "Fender is renewing its commitment to budget-minded players with a revamped line of affordable electric guitars". Business Insider. Retrieved 28 July 2018.
  11. ↑ Hermann, Andy (26 June 2018). "Women Are Saving the Electric Guitar". Los Angeles Magazine .
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