“Mary Spender – Musician or YouTuber – lets find out.”
I’ve been following the career of singer and guitarist, Mary Spender for half a dozen or more years now. I first saw Mary doing a gear demo at the Birmingham Guitar show in 2017. I’ve seen her grow up on YouTube, where she has nearly 750,000 subscribers - an incredible number for an independent artist, so when they chance came to see her perform at Birmingham’s Castle and Falcon, I wanted to see how Mary’s online popularity translated to the real world. Does a successful YouTube channel mean fans will come out to hear your music?
And conversely if you are a media star, will music fans take you seriously as a musician. So… are eyes and ears hearts and minds open or closed?
In recent years it seems like Mary’s original music has taken a backseat to her YouTube channel. I wholly understand, eking out a living in a creative industry is tough or nearly impossible for independent artists—it takes a day job or some other means of support. It was good then to see her playing her music, although I’m unsure whether Mary is able to truly commit to her music, being a successful YouTuber is to commit to a highly competitive world. It takes everything and people give everything and still don’t get noticed. Keeping attention is a high wire and plate spinning act all at one time.
The Castle and Falcon seemed like a bit of a modest venue for Mary, but this year has seen them host everyone from American indie star Kevin Morby to Murkage Dave. It’s an inviting space, staging the bands in a bar behind the bar.
Readers of my gear reviews might want to know that the sound was powered by a Behringer Wing which performed well. Sound guy Andy also controlled the light show but I think that was on autopilot, it seemed to do its own not particularly atmospheric thing. As we waited I wondered why Mary Spender, who is a big advocate for new talent,didn’t have any new bands on the bill opening up for her.
Mary got her set underway with several solo acoustic songs; her guitar sound was chiming, rich and balanced from the get go and her lead vocal clear and melodic. The songs from her summer album, Super.Sexy.Heartbreak were cool and I loved the tunings, chord arrangements and tempo changes. Mary is without question a super guitar player.
The band joined her, bass, drums and an additional guitarist and click track I’d say. Which I think can leave things a bit too controlled, too sterile for a club gig, c’mon, Mary… Also, maybe more backing vocals might’ve provided another dimension. On her recordings, there can be beautiful Jason Isbell type production at work and a little more of it in the live show would’ve definitely been cool. Mary’s current sound can, on the surface at least, tap safely into traditional rock vein. It’s sort of an indefinable genre of its own.
Gearheads in the audience might’ve recognised the guitarists’ Kemper Profiler—he had some nice tones coming out of it for sure. Alright..! Nitty gritty stuff I am going to know!
Anway, the crowd were really into the gig, Mary, and her songs. Mary is both charismatic and personable, connecting with her audience and it seemed like most of the crowd hung out after to meet her after for quick chats and merch signing. There was a good feeling in the room.
When I spoke to Mary, it was clear that despite her success, she is just as grounded as when demoing gear at the guitar show back in Brum in 2017. But what is Mary now? Singer, songwriter, youtube media personality? She can certainly write strong, entertaining songs. She can manage a media empire… Oh man, tonight’s show told me one thing… There will always be more questions than answers.
