Meet Maree Montagnini

Today we’d like to introduce you to Maree Montagnini.

Hi Maree, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I’m the singer and songwriter for the band I started in 2021, Uncommon Crossroads. We perform all original Americana folk rock in the southern Arizona area. I started writing my own music late last year as a way to deal with the isolation of living with the Covid shutdowns as well as working through postpartum depression following the birth of my fifth child.

Shortly thereafter, I connected with the amazing music community in Tucson AZ and everything came together. I worked with my band to arrange songs, I started booking gigs with local venues such as Jackrabbit Lounge, Rockabilly Grill, and FireTruck Brewing. And we took off. In our first year, we were invited to play at venues such as the Pima County Fair and Banditos in Rocky Point Mexico.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Starting any enterprise, creative or a business, is never without its struggles. On the creative end, however, it’s been easy. I love writing music and I probably write something new weekly lol. And making music with the incredible musicians in my band is all joy and inspiration. From a technical and business perspective, it’s been a long road. The music industry is exactly that. An industry. In any business, there is always an initial investment, of time, money, or both. In most businesses, you can predict that certain actions yield certain outcomes. However, in music, the ultimate goal for most is to “make it big”… get signed, get famous, and get paid enough to support yourself and your band. That is not a guaranteed yield.

So much success in the music business is providence and luck. But “fortune favors the bold”… you increase your chance of being discovered etc by working to promote yourself… how can you be in the right place at the right time if you aren’t anywhere. Or if you stay in your bedroom writing sad songs for yourself, or jamming in the garage with your friends (don’t worry, I still do both lol). You have to get out and perform, and meet people. You have to put yourself out on social media, and learn how to promote. You have to record, produce, be on streaming services, and get on curated playlists. You need to join music networking groups and share your songs on YouTube. Behind any successful band, there is so much hard, quiet, behind-the-scenes work that went into presenting what you’re looking at. That’s what I do with the majority of my time at this point. But it’s worth it because I believe in my music, my band is amazing, and everyone we’ve met along the way makes it worth it.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
“More about my work…. what I do….” I love the question but it’s not the easiest to answer neatly. And as a recovering legal assistant and editor, tidy, concise answers are important to me. The short answer is I do and I’ve done a lot of things and they all contribute to what I’m doing now that brought me to this interview…. writing and performing music. Short answer continued… I’m the mom of 5 amazing kids and the wife of 1 awesome man. That colors everything else I am or do.

My background academically is in literature, writing, and legal studies. I’ve spent a lot of time working as an editor, in law offices, in academia, in HR, and as a personal trainer. Having had to read so many great, foundational books, and then learning to write with correct form and structure has hugely formed my songwriting abilities. I have a long-standing interest in American history and draw inspiration from folk and traditional music roots. Slightly longer answer lol!!

Musically, I’m a self-taught singer and guitar player. I took piano lessons for seemingly hundreds of years as a child, then applied what theory I’d retained to teach myself guitar when I was 15. I started singing along to bluegrass, folk, Irish, and country covers and that was it for a long time. I wrote my first songs a year ago, found myself, and my music adventure took off. I have my wonderful band now who plays what I write as I hear it, I’m starting to take voice lessons, and I’m silly proud of my more recently written songs.

Do you have recommendations for books, apps, blogs, etc?
Honestly, I wish I could recommend some, but no, most of what I’ve learned has come from asking those who know more than me about it.

Contact Info:

• Website: Www.uncommoncrossroads.com
• Instagram: Https://www.instagram.com/uncommoncrossroads
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mareetheband?mibextid=ZbWKwL
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/@uncommoncrossroads4513
• Other: https://youtube.com/@mareemontagnini6368

Image Credits
Phil Kelly Photography and Ameira Al-Ruhdan