For Morgan McGowan, music was something she started a quite a bit sooner than most.
“As soon as I was out of the hospital, grandma had me to the Kiwanis Kids Choir, showing me to everybody,” said McGowan.
“I was in there every Thursday until I could actually sing and then I was a part of the choir and that’s kind of what got me started.”
The beat that started 17 years ago kept going on last Thursday, when the teenaged McGowan, along with two other bandmates called “Cover Me”, performed at the Dawson Creek Art Gallery as part of the Arts Festival.
The trio, including Jodi “Jodelle” Abel and Aaron Rounds, performed a variety of country and southern rock songs to a packed room from artists like Gretchen Wilson and Creedence Clearwater Revival.
Some attendees chose to stand on the second floor of the gallery to see her.
Performing in front of crowds like these is nothing new to McGowan, whether playing in front of local pub-goers or with the Kids Choir for many years. McGowan still used the blue music stand with the Kiwanis Kids Choir logo.
“Grandma leant me this one to use in performances. I really need to invest in a new one, it’s pretty beat up,” she laughed.
Some Dawson Creek residents may have already seen McGowan when she performed last year as the lead in the high school production of “Legally Blonde.”
“I used to be really nervous all the time,” said McGowan. “(Playing the lead) kind of depleted my nervous nerves.”
Which doesn’t mean that she still doesn’t get excited before a performance.
“I’ll get a little bit like, ‘Oh, I’m really excited to play my first song, then I’m good,’” she said. “I haven’t gotten nervous in a long time.”
However, she admits that this time, her first performing in the Dawson Creek Art Gallery, holds a bit of a special meaning for her.
“I’ve watched performances in the art gallery, and it’s phenomenal,” she said. “The sound here is so beautiful.”
While she does not plan to pursue music as a career after graduating from Dawson Creek Secondary School, that performance will remain part of her life afterwards.
“To be able to sing is just be able to release a lot of built up stress,” she said.
“I always have a really good time with my bandmates.”
