When Mackenzie O’Brien was in high school, she was bored one spring break so she picked up a guitar to entertain herself.
Fast-forward a decade and now she’s got a blossoming country music career.
O’Brien, a McHenry native, had dreams of being a singer from the time she was a little girl watching “American Idol.” It wasn’t until high school that she started to take singing — and her own dreams — seriously.
“It was spring break; I was 15 and everybody was in Florida. I was alone and kind of sad and I remembered my sister had this old, cheap guitar in her closet,” she said. “I took it out and learned a few chords on YouTube. Then I started to cover songs and then my parents were like, ‘Oh, we should get you music lessons.’”
She started taking guitar lessons at The Players Bench Music Store in Crystal Lake. With encouragement from her guitar teacher, she decided to make a commitment to herself and her music.
Mackenzie O’Brien Band will perform at 7 p.m. June 13 for the first concert of the Summer in the Shire concerts at Village Green in Lincolnshire. Other concerts feature Rosie & the Rivets July 11, Serendipity Aug. 8 and Dr.Mark & the Sutures Sept. 12.
“All careers are difficult, but music is really hard because there’s so much uncertainty to it,” she said. “If I didn’t have this passion all along, I would’ve never stuck with it. It’s part of who I am.”
The youngest of three children, O’Brien attended the now-defunct Faith Lutheran High School in Crystal Lake.
“I was the wrong kid to be sent to private school. I was not good at school. I was a straight-C student,” she said. “I went there for three years, but I was really sad there wasn’t a music program.
She attended McHenry Community High School her senior year.
“I found like-minded people there. I got involved in choir. I made it to the top choir, Surround Sound. My choir teacher, Derek Galvicius, instilled a lot of confidence in me,” she said. “My creative writing teacher was into music and he knew that I was and he also encouraged me. His name was Mr. (Dane) Erbach. That was a big reason I stuck with it.”
After graduating in 2016, she knew she was going to make a serious attempt at making a career in music.
“If you’re passionate about it, you have one life to live. Just go for it,” she said.
She started going to Nashville, which she credits with teaching her how to write songs and learn the ins and outs of the music business. She has artist development deal with Daredevil Production Nashville.
“Then we just stuck around Chicago and some people were like, ‘Why aren’t you in Nashville? That’s where the music business is,’” she said. “But I think Chicago has really helped my career. And Nashville is such a saturated market. I’ve gotten opportunities to open for famous country stars in Chicago clubs and have made a lot of good connections in Chicago.”
She’s been able to open for acts like LoneStar, Rodney Atkins, Parker McCollum, Pam Tillis, Jordan Davis, Chris Janson, Kylie Morgan and Chris Cagle. She’s also performed concerts after Lee Brice and Jo Dee Messina. And she’s performed at Country Thunder the last three years.
O’Brien does a mix of covers by artists like Shania Twain, Dwight Yoakam, Pat Benatar and The Eagles. She also performs her original songs — go to Spotify or YouTube to hear what she sounds like. Songwriting is an ongoing process but one thing she learned early on is to write what’s authentic to herself, regardless of what she thinks people want to hear.
“I had to learn to just be honest and matter-of-fact and that really helped my writing,” she said.
Sonically, she’s influenced by country star Kacey Musgraves.
“I love the fact that she was a little bit more fringe than commercial country,” she said. “Just more of an indie influence, because I grew up listening to indie stuff. Miranda Lambert is big one, because I love how she’s not afraid to get angry in her music.”
This summer, audiences will find her all over Chicagoland, playing at clubs and outdoor town fests and events — which she loves doing.
“What’s really cool with the outdoor shows is that it’s been a really good way to find fans because they’re just a really good listening audience there,” she said. “I throw in some originals and it seemed like they were catching on to the stories I was telling and I got to meet a lot of people afterwards.”
Annie Alleman is a freelance reporter for the News-Sun.
Summer in the Shire: Mackenzie O’Brien Band
When: 7-9 p.m. June 13
Where: Village Green, 100 Village Green South, Lincolnshire
Tickets: Free
Information: 847-883-8600; lincolnshireil.gov/i-want-to/special-events
