(guitar case unzipping) - My given name is Maggie.

I wanted to strip away that ego when I'm on stage so I can deliver authentically.

And I decided that Mie, M-I-E, 'cause I'm just me on stage, is the only way to go about it.

♪ I'm not gonna stick around ♪ ♪ To find out I was right ♪ I grew up in Mukwanago, Wisconsin.

And at the age of about seven I was thrown on stage to sing acapella.

And from there I've been singing in choirs and voice lessons, piano lessons, guitar lessons throughout my whole adolescence.

And then I went to undergrad at UW Milwaukee for vocal performance at the Peck School of the Arts.

Through studying, I was able to find that I like to be very real in my lyricism.

I'm grateful for the training that I did not wanna have to go through at the time because it showed me all of the possibilities of my own voice, and then therefore I could mold it into me, who I am today on stage.

♪ It's yours ♪ ♪ I gave it to you ♪ I've always loved the Top 40.

I love Stevie Nicks.

I love her imperfections.

I love that she's so raw and real.

In terms of songwriting, I was really inspired by Jewel and Katie Tunstall.

I prefer to lead with my lyricism and the melodies that come with those lyrics.

I like to jump around from different genres just because I feel like it helps to shape a good image of who I am inside.

And I'm not just one thing in there.

So I know that I've got some rage.

I know that I've got some love.

I know that I've got some depression.

I know that I've got some joy.

So it definitely helps me to feel connected to my music when I'm writing about something that I've actually gone through personally and experienced.

♪ Is it cold to cut you off ♪ ♪ Before the poison starts to spread ♪ ♪ I can take the heat ♪ ♪ If you hold onto your resentment ♪ I hope that they feel catharsis.

I hope that they can heal a little bit through my story.

The more I perform, the more I craft my set into something that can be really honest and raw, but then end with beauty.

I always joke that I'm just another sad girl with a guitar, but though I'm sad, I'm still here.

And to me that's really important, and I want to be able to emulate that for listeners, and to give them hope and to give them strength in their own struggles 'cause I think that our pain makes us that much more human.

And the more we show that and the more vulnerable we are with all of the pain that we've gone through, I think the more united we are as people and the more honest we are.

♪ Get lost in this wonderland of yours ♪ I wanna do whatever I can to uplift this community because the people here deserve it, and they're hustling, and they're working really hard, and they've only ever been wonderful, and supportive, and inspirational.

Through music, I find that if I'm pursuing something that brings me joy, and makes me happy, and makes me process my emotions and feel, and then I could share that with other people, then hopefully it inspires them to do whatever makes them happy and brings them joy and helps them heal.

And then that just ripples out.

♪ It's yours, I gave it to you ♪ ♪ Do with it what you choose ♪