Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Meg Dwyer. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Meg, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you talk to us about how you learned to do what you do?

Absolutely. I’ve always wanted to be a teacher so I went to university to become a band director. The first school I was teaching at had an afterschool New Orleans brass band program. When the high school teacher asked me if I would help teach it, I said yes. However, considering I spent most of my university career as an orchestral bassoonist, I most definitely was learning the music with the kids, lol. After a couple of months, not only did I inadvertently teach those kids how to transcribe, but I absolutely fell in love with the music. It was the beginning of my journey with New Orleans brass band music and I started to play my saxophone more and more after that.

New Orleans brass band music is music of the streets and of this most amazing city’s culture that is honestly not mine in any way. It is not something one can learn from a book and not even really from a record. Many have tried to replicate it — how could they not? It is beautiful, unique, and incredibly fun. Unfortunately, that means that many have watered it down, adopted it as their own, appropriated it. Myself included, which is why I try to take a very critical eye to myself as a guest in the brass band scene.

In a nutshell, that critical eye is how I have learned to play the bulk of my musical work. I’ve been lucky to go out in the French Quarter and learn the music on the streets from musicians that have possibly been playing this music for generations. I am so thankful to be able to learn this music by following their leads and trying to correct the mistakes they point out to me. Still trying. Luckily, I am a person that is fueled by failure and criticism (no, you can talk about it with your therapist!). It is a hard and lengthy process, but I don’t think it should be any other way when one is trying to play another culture’s music with as much authenticity and complete earnestness as possible. I take the same approach the best that I can when I play in some of the Latin bands in the city and other projects. As a real change of pace, I enjoy the freedom to experiment and synthesize something new in my own original band, Sweet Magnolia.

Meg, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Sure, my name is Meg Dwyer. I am a saxophonist based in New Orleans. I gig there, primarily in New Orleans brass bands, and lead the pop influenced, brass forward band, Sweet Magnolia, which features songs that I write.

My mother would be proud to tell you that Sweet Magnolia’s debut EP titled Glitter in the Bathtub was just as fun as it sounds (!) and was played internationally on radio stations. In spring of 2023, we were chosen as one of fifty artists for the 2023 Crescent City Sounds Collection.

Above all else, I would say that authenticity is important to me in my projects as a musician. In a city where it is easy to play crowded rooms for tourists, I book my band to play favorite neighborhood spots and avoid the touristy venues. It’s far harder to have a room full of people to play for, but I really want us to be a local band with a genuine audience. When I do play for tourists (because, hello, a girl’s gotta eat!), it is trying to support the culture bearers of New Orleans as we share the music of New Orleans with the world.

In my own band, Sweet Magnolia, I can be most authentic which usually means being painfully vulnerable and quirky. People are either about it, or not. Our live shows are known for sometimes taking a turn towards me trying out my silly stand-up comedy routines and having lots of audience participation. My songs are pretty much my form of therapy which means that they are boldly honest (there’s a song about f***boys, songs about returning to live music, breakups, and more). Instead of CDs, we distribute our music in the form of matchbooks with QR codes because I think that they are perfectly classy in that high-low way.

Authenticity is not something I’ve always had figured out. I still don’t have it all down, but I will say that the past few years have been a wonderful culmination of far more attracting than chasing. I’ve found that when I work hard and focus with intention to make high quality music and positive kindness happen, great people and great gigs start to come. More and more, I find myself lucky to work with the most charming people, venues, and audiences.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

Hot take, but I can tell you that after years of being a classroom teacher, I am just not that extrinsically rewarded by others. Whew, that actually felt kind of good to get that out.

So for me, the thrill is sharing things that I find sublime. That is extremely rewarding. Sharing the electric energy of a New Orleans second line and goosebumps that happen to me when I hear the tuba start up. Amazing. Looking around and knowing that people are delighted and think that this is the most magical place to be. So. Rewarding.

Writing songs for Sweet Magnolia is also extremely satisfying in that the process of writing a song is therapy for me. For the better or worse, my songs are very honest. Sharing that experience with others is incredibly rewarding because people come up to me after our shows and tell me that they totally relate. Sometimes they even yell this back at us during the show which is pretty damn cool. The fact that they relate may bring them some type of emotion, I don’t know, but I most definitely am overcome with emotion and joy that I am not alone. Someone felt that too! Wow, to be human. It’s pretty wild!

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

Not to pitch you the expected, but being a female brass player is hard (!) Thankfully, there are so many wonderful people I get to work with and many people that make it feel easy.

That said, many days it feels like a fight to exist as a female musician in my own head. I’ve had to really examine and shut down some of the internalized sexism in myself.

I know people mean well, but many times I hear people tell me “so-and-so really loves having a female in the band” or “wow, a woman in the band.” These things are all true and all said from a place of love. They also show that people prioritize wanting females represented in bands…BUT I can’t help that in my head, it makes me feel a bit like a prop. It makes me question whether I’m there solely because I’m *a female in the band* or because I’m actually good enough to be there and contribute to the band.

This questioning is something that I’m unlearning everyday. Everyday, I have to tell myself that I am good enough, I am trying hard enough. At the very least, I have to tell myself not to care or think about it too hard, just keep my head up and keep trying.

Usually, as the only woman, I am the only one that is there to tell myself these things, so I’ve learned to do it. Despite all this and more, I’m so lucky to work with people that value me and see me as a good musician. I don’t take any of these people for granted and am literally crying as I’m saying this because I appreciate them more than they could ever know!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://linktr.ee/sweetmagnoliabrassband
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sweetmagnoliabrassband/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@sweetmagnoliabrassband9089

Image Credits
Katie Sikora (red bathtub photo, main *headshot* photo) Jacob Crowe (Blue bathtub photo) Chelsy Wiley (nighttime second line photo)