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For 29-year-old Molly O’Leary, these are days of evolution and change.
Last year, they quit their day job and began working for themself.
Last March, they released their second full-length album of original music.
In June, they publicly came out as queer and non-binary, shortly after purchasing a Winnebago RV that will help them to tour playing their music throughout North America.
For this New Bedford native, this has been a year of progress as they chase their dream and seek to live their true identity.
With the recent release of the album “Marigold,” this singer-songwriter is entering a phase in their career that many musicians aspire to — being able to make a living from their artistry. At the same time, they are pursuing another life achievement — coming out as a member of the LGBTQ community.
O’Leary is approaching the future with the support that comes from family, friends and fans, and “Marigold” is a significant step. Recorded in the music hub of Nashville, it was produced by one of O’Leary’s foremost musical inspirations, Will Hoge. Released on the New Frontier record label (also based in Nashville), the album has an indie-rock feel with themes that range from sobering to joyful, drawn from a year of therapy work O’Leary did to process their experiences with PTSD. In June of last year, O’Leary’s trajectory of success helped to enable them to leave their job of four years as a counselor in a local public school system. For the last year they have worked as a private practice therapist in New Bedford, treating queer and non-binary teens and adults.
With comparisons to Phoebe Bridgers, Alannis Morrissette, Jewel and Brandi Carlisle, O’Leary is poised to experience national success. They are so devoted to their music career that they recently traveled to Michigan to purchase a motor home to outfit them and their bandmates as they embark on upcoming tours. A week-long tour has been booked for mid-August through the Midwest.
O’Leary’s recording debut came in October of 2021 with the independent release of “Holding Space,” a 12-track album recorded at Bongo Beach Studios in Westport with John Mailloux producing. The response to “Holding Space” was enough for O’Leary to put together two tours of the East Coast — one to the south that included the mid-Atlantic states and one to the north that went into Canada.
O’Leary has seen the virtues of self promotion. While beset by COVID-19 in January 2021, they sent out copies of “Holding Space” to a variety of music industry figures. One of the people who responded was Alex Fang, an agent and vice president with New Frontier Touring, a Nashville company that books tours for artists throughout the nation. The album resonated with Fang and he passed it along to Hoge who was similarly impressed.
When O’Leary opened for Hoge in April 2021 at Sonia in Cambridge, they wowed Hoge. Soon they found themself invited as the opening act for multiple Hoge shows throughout the nation and Hoge signed on to produce “Marigold.”
Recorded in two weeks during February 2023, “Marigold’s” 14 tracks feature New Bedford guitarist John Fernandes and a group of Nashville-based musicians. The project cost $20,000, which was raised through the online site Kickstarter. O’Leary previously raised $7,000 on Kickstarter for the recording and release of “Holding Space.”
O’Leary performs their songs with a full band, in a duo with Fernandes, and occasionally solo.
“Everything is there for Molly,” Fang says. “[They’ve] got the perfect blend of singer-songwriter folk while moving it forward. [They’re] on a par with any of the stars of [their] genre.”
O’Leary’s first musical performance took place at the age of 12 when their mother, Ann, took them to an Open Mic at Café Arpeggio in downtown New Bedford, hosted by Art Tebbetts. The first song they performed was Green Day’s “Good Riddance.” In less than two years they were performing their own songs.
But there’s more to O’Leary than music. Since 2017, they have been a certified Yoga Instructor, working out of the Heron at its locations in Westport and Fall River. They are currently an active contributor to the Wicked Queer Puppet Theater, also based at the two Heron locations.
In addition to music, O’Leary talked with the Light about the music industry, Nashville, New Bedford, magic, life changes, coming out, and their beloved cats.
New Bedford Light: The music industry can be a daunting behemoth. What are your thoughts and emotions as you’re on the cusp of becoming a full-time recording and touring artist?
Molly O’Leary: I really like this question, and I’ve thought about it a lot. There are the mainstream things you see — folks who are “famous,” and it is so hard for that to happen. The industry and labels are looking for Tik Tok artists often now, which is not me. I’m not going to be a viral Tik Tok performer, I don’t think, nor do I really want that at this moment. At the same time there’s so much hope because there’s music scenes all across the country I’ve learned, that are very DIY, Do It Yourself. There’s folks, there’s queer spaces, there’s huge groups of safe spaces and beautiful communities that I’m learning I can become a part of and make a living. It’s hard work but it’s possible and it’s really exciting.
NBL: On both of your records you have a song about practicing magic. Does magic play any role in your music?
MO: Yes, music and magic feel synonymous, in that when I write a song it often feels like there’s something else kind of pouring through me. There are some songs that maybe felt harder to get out and it felt that I was actually working for them. But then there are songs like “Lion’s Gate” and “Come to the Coven” that were written so quickly and it felt like there was something spiritual happening.
NBL: You’ve toured the East Coast and the Midwest playing your music. So what are your thoughts on what is happening in New Bedford?
MO: I’m incredibly grateful for the music and art scene. I’ve been a part of it since I was a kid. The first place I ever performed was at Cafe Arpeggio in downtown New Bedford, and since then it’s always been a home to me. There’s great DIY venues, there’s great safe spaces for queer folks. There’s so many opportunities such as open mics and other events where folks can share music, art, poetry, et cetera.
It’s nice to have traveled across the country and be able to come back to New Bedford and know that New Bedford is just as special as any of the other special places and communities that I have been to. So I really wouldn’t be doing what I am now without New Bedford.
NBL: What have you learned about self promotion? It seems you’ve received benefits from being proactive with “Holding Space.”
MO: Yes. With “Holding Space” it was learning the grounds. With “Marigold” I’ve learned to be annoying, or at least what I perceive as annoying — like posting a lot, sending out monthly newsletters as much as I can. Because if people don’t see the flyers or they don’t see the posters they’re not going to come to the show or listen to the music. I’ve grown more comfortable with posting a lot.
NBL: What is it like working with a producer and trusting their interpretations of your songs?
MO: Working with a producer is scary and also wonderful, especially when you’re like me and have lucked out with super awesome producers who really listen and understand your vision and really take what you want into consideration. And for an example, when I sent my producers John Mailloux and Will Hoge reference tracks for the albums they actually really listen to it and I feel like it really helps with our conversation and the goal we’re trying to achieve.
I’m someone who struggles with anxiety and self-esteem a lot, especially when I’m recording. I still get nervous before performances, but with recording I really get nervous because I hate metronomes, but I understand their purpose and their use. And when I recorded in Nashville last year with Will (Hoge) I was very nervous, and he kept me super grounded, and we got it done and it was great.
NBL: How is music cathartic and therapeutic for you, whether it’s something you’re listening to or something you’re writing and performing?
MO: I like how you asked about both listening and performing because going to concerts are one of the most amazing therapeutic things. It’s not a replacement for therapy for me — I still go to therapy in the traditional sense — but to go to concerts heals my soul so tremendously. And it’s really important with my art, getting to perform and be in community with people. And with the performance it feels like we’re all experiencing something together and it heals the things I’m processing and I hope it heals the things other people are processing too.
NBL: You’ve recorded and performed in Nashville. It’s a major music hub. What are your impressions of the city?
MO: I recall a time when people were projecting a stereotype that it was only a place for country artists, and I have learned that that is not true. I have friends who have moved down there who are very similar to my sort of indie singer-songwriter vibes, and there’s definitely scenes there for that. And also as a queer artist there’s also scenes there for that. You’ve just got to know what doors to knock on, the right venues to find that are not on the main streets.
NBL: Why did you finally decide to come out as queer, non-binary? How do you feel now that you’ve publicly addressed this part of your life? What was your inspiration for taking this step?
MO: Coming out isn’t just one thing, but I wish it was. I wish it could be one day and that it would be done with. It’s a continuous journey, so in some ways I have, in the last three to four years, come out to friends and then it kind of transferred to onstage, and then very recently in public — online posts that have pros and cons for me. It got to a point where I felt like I was hiding and if I didn’t start talking about it I felt like I couldn’t be my true self as a singer-songwriter, as a therapist or as a human in general. So that was what pushed me to do this.
NBL: How has your family supported you in your career and your lifestyle?
MO: When I think of the word family I think of my blood family and my chosen family, meaning my friends. I see family in both those areas, and thankfully I have so many people who support me and love me and help me logistically get to shows, and show up to my shows and support me and my music, my values and my identities. And then, of course, there’s people in general who maybe don’t. I want to acknowledge that there are joys and there are hard parts, feelings of rejection at times. Someone doesn’t get, for example, that I quit my job so I could be my own boss as a private practice therapist and as a musician. So I’m self-employed and there are some people who are like “Don’t do that,” and didn’t support it.
NBL: How did you arrive at the decision to leave your counselor position? Why was it time?
MO: There were multiple things. One, I just felt burned out. I have a lot of respect for educators in public school systems, and I hope that statewide and nationwide, we can continue to do advocacy work to get them more pay, to get them more support, because it’s a huge toll across the board — in Massachusetts and across the country. So there was that burn out. And secondly, I was really feeling personally drawn to music and I wanted more opportunity to be able to follow these dreams that I have. And this avenue to be a private practice therapist was the perfect blend of those two careers that I really want to have.
NBL: Female and queer songwriters are on a trajectory of popularity. Does this benefit you and how have you witnessed this in your life and your career?
MO: For me, just so you know, it’s so hard with language and words, like the question you just asked. Language is always changing and evolving. Even something that I’m going to use in this interview is going to change probably in a year to what might feel best. But I do think about it. I guess some queer folks now use the term AFAB, which means assigned female at birth. So it is acknowledging how we’ve been conditioned as folks who are perceived as women, and I do identify as non-binary and queer. And I think, to answer the question, Alannis Morrissette has been a huge inspiration, and she is a woman. And I do see parts of myself in her, even though I don’t identify as a woman. It can be very confusing but the point is there are totally artists who are female and non-binary, and across the gender spectrum, and who are queer and who inspire me. To name a few would be Alannis Morrissette, Phoebe Bridgers, Lucy Decas, Juilianne Baker, Ryan Cassata and way more. When I see folks like those artists on stage it makes me feel like, “Oh, I can do this,” because something in them I see in myself. And it’s super helpful.
NBL: Your two cats, Luna and Loki. What do you love about them? Why did you get a pair of cats?
MO: I have two because Sarah Donner, who runs Moby Kit Rescue out of New Bedford, had two available for adoption and I was looking. And also I had heard from a lot of folks that having two kittens is nice because they can be pals. And I’m actually not home a ton — I have work, I have gigs, I go on tour. And it helps me to know that they have each other. They’re so cute, and my cats help my mental health so tremendously. I have a lot of anxiety, PTSD, and they help me become present and they’re so caring and they love when I play music for them. They’re very sweet.
Sean McCarthy is a freelance writer and frequent contributor to The New Bedford Light.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Good morning!
Thank you for the article about Molly O’Leary. I am struck by your use of the pronouns “they” and “us” in the beginning of the article, and then during the interview you abandon this practice Molly uses “I” and “my” when answering your questions. As a 70 year old musician I am confused by this practice. Can you please explain your motives behind this? Thank you
Guess my question from yesterday about
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