Australian singer-songwriter MAY-A performed a grunge-inflected cover of Stevie Nicks' 1981 track 'Edge of Seventeen' on triple j's Like a Version on March 20. The 24-year-old Sydney artist delivered a guitar-driven reworking with her live band. She also played a track from her debut album.
MAY-A, a 24-year-old talent from Sydney, covered Stevie Nicks' classic 'Edge of Seventeen' for triple j's Like a Version session on Friday, March 20. Born Maya Cumming, she stripped away the song's original iconic riff and rebuilt it as a heavier, distortion-led piece. The performance began with a restrained, vocally-led arrangement before expanding into guitar and bass solos in the second half, allowing her raspy, rock-edged voice to shine alongside tenderness. Guitarist and collaborator Chloe Dadd played a key role in the arrangement, which evolved through extensive rehearsals. 'When we started playing around with the idea of this song, we just played it in so many different ways,' MAY-A said. 'And my guitarist Chloe, she sort of built out the tracks.' She selected the song for Nicks' unique approach to themes of grief and loss. 'I haven’t seen someone write about grief and loss in such a powerful and strong way,' she explained, calling it 'unique and inspiring.' During the session, MAY-A also performed 'Last Man on Earth' from her debut album Goodbye (If You Call That Gone), released on February 20. In a recent interview, she discussed her shift from pop to rock influences like Sonic Youth, Bikini Kill, Paramore, Hole and Evanescence. 'I was never from this scene — I was always a Taylor Swift pop girl — so when I got into rock in my teens, I felt like a fraud,' she said. 'These women made me feel seen, and made me realise I didn’t need to fit into all of these moulds I had made for myself. I had to carve my own space.' She described the album as a 'slow burn,' made 'as raw as I could.' MAY-A's tour for the album starts April 2 at The Princess Theatre in Brisbane, with dates in Sydney, Melbourne, Fremantle and Adelaide. This Like a Version was part of triple j's expanded March schedule, doubling to Friday and Tuesday sessions.
