Polly Mackey & the Pleasure Principle
Thursday, March 19 - 12:00 am
Esther's Follies
525 E 6th Street
Austin, Texas
www.myspace.com/pollymackey

“Don’t quite know what it is, but the first time I heard Polly Mackey I just thought ‘star in the making’. Only 17 years old and has potential well beyond her years. She’s going to be BIG BIG. Already creating something of a ‘buzz’ this year at the fest, I’m almost looking forward to standing back and watching the industry feeding frenzy when she gets off-stage”.
Cary Caldwell, SXSW Conferences & Festivals

Polly Mackey’s first public performance came shortly before her sixteenth birthday when, at a family party, she was invited to sing a few of her songs. Unbeknown to her, amongst the guests was a local music promoter who immediately signed her up for a gig at a local music venue.

In the intervening eighteen months she has established herself as a significant talent on the UK music scene. Still only seventeen, her precocious song-writing skills received industry acknowledgement early in 2008 when she reached the finals of the UK MIBI National Songwriting Awards - judged by Chris Martin of Coldplay and other industry luminaries.

With her live performances in demand from promoters and venues alike, Polly notched up more than fifty gigs during 2008 at some of the UK's leading venues. Appearances at the Liverpool Sound City Music Festival, MTV Liverpool Music Week and The Orange Unlit Tour (Liverpool) crowned her year.

Despite the critical acclaim her solo acoustic performances were gaining, Polly felt that her material would benefit substantially if performed by a band. In mid-2008 therefore, she handpicked a number of seasoned local musicians and re-launched herself as Polly Mackey & The Pleasure Principle.

The band has added a radically new dimension to her already powerful material. With just a handful of live performances under their belt, the band is generating industry interest from both within the UK and internationally.

The band has recently recorded a live session for BBC Radio 1 Wales that is due for broadcast early in March 2009. They have also attracted the interest of up-and-coming producer Paul Grady - whose credits include engineering work on the recent albums by Coldplay, The Kooks and The Howling Bells – who invited them to spend a week at Peter Gabriel’s world-renowned Realworld studios in early February.

One of the two tracks recorded at Realworld will be released as the band’s first single to coincide with their appearances at this year’s SXSW International Music Festival in Austin, Texas.

SXSW planners clearly feel the band are about to go stratospheric and have extended their showcase invitation to include a performance at the Convention Centre Day Stage in addition to two further official SXSW performances on SXSW Second Play Stages at the Austin Hilton and Sheraton hotels. The band have also been chosen to play a set at the Liverpool Sound City Live Day Party at Latitude 30 on the Saturday of the festival.

The band will represent the UK at the International Night event taking place on the evening before the festival begins which is hosted by Dart Music International - who now act as the band’s US agents. Dart are currently in the process of arranging itineraries for the band to appear at a number of other US music festivals during 2009.

The band’s first single – Seriously – will be available on iTunes, Amazon and eMusic from 16th March.