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Blame it all on Carole King. Mary McAdams found her older brother’s copy of “Tapestry” when she was 9 years old.

She put the album on the stereo in her parent’s living room and fell in love with songwriting. She spent nearly every night for the next three years crouched in a corner, memorizing every lyric, melody and musician on the album. She wore the grooves out and wore her brother down when he wanted his album back.

Then she discovered Jackson Browne. Then she got a guitar.

Mary wrote and wrote in high school, recorded a 12-song demo that never saw the light of day and panicked at the thought of playing music in front of people. She had full blown stage fright. Mary put her guitar away and tried to deny the pull that music had on her. She went to college and got a degree in Science, got married and began to raise her family.

“You can run from your calling for a good long time, but you can’t run forever,” says McAdams. After a nearly 10-year breakup with music that “almost broke me,” she picked up that guitar and hasn’t looked back since.

Mary released her debut album in 2009 to high praise. “Mary’s voice is honest, unapologetically strong and downright ROCKIN’. The writing is full of imagery” (Sweet Talk Radio, Los Angeles, CA.). Her first album is a “lush, layered production that rocks; Mary’s voice soars above it all to drive these stories home” (Heather Miller, KRUU-LP 100.1FM, Fairfield, IA).

And Mary has been winning awards for her songwriting:

2013 Kerrville New Folk Finalist

2012, '11 and '10 Regional Finalist, Mountain Stage ‘NewSong’ Songwriting Competition

2011 Snowbird Mountain Music Festival Finalist

2010 Snowbird Mountain Music Festival, Second Place

Regional Finalist, 2010 Lilith Fair Local Talent Search

Finalist, 2010 Big Top Chautauqua Songwriting Contest

2010 Sundance Film Festival Official Showcase

Mary’s music was accepted by the music library and synch-licensing powerhouse, Crucial Music. Notoriously selective and located in Los Angeles, Crucial Music has secured substantial film/TV placements for its artists and Mary is excited about the possibilities.

Mary McAdams lives in Des Moines, what is sometimes called “the heartland,” and her music is modern folk. She has performed at music festivals, art festivals, house concerts, coffeehouses and schools. Mary performs solo, duo and with her full band.

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Entertainment Garden Opener: Mary McAdams