Lily Mac @ The Ship Isis

Lily Mac ‘Empty Man’ Single Launch Show

Eighteen year-old County Durham singer, songwriter and guitarist Lily Mac has been a fixture on Sunderland’s music scene for several years, taking cues from artists such as Jeff Buckley, Joan as Police Woman, Elliott Smith and Jade Bird, while assembling songs full of, as she puts it, “big plot twists and big feelings.”

On the 22nd May, Lily releases her debut single, Empty Man, co-produced with Field Music’s David Brewis. Lily describes it as her “letting go rock song”, but it elegantly balances melancholy and grit. The release follows Lily’s starring role in the National Theatre’s spectacular collaborative project Public Record, which sees a hundred-strong cast explore Sunderland’s past and present through story, song and dance. Composer Ross Millard (The Futureheads) and director Emily Lim hand-picked Lily to sing the opening and closing songs of the performances at The Fire Station.

The recording and release of Empty Man has been supported by We Make Culture’s Next Steps Progression Fund for emerging artists.