Printer-friendly version
By Jacob Pamus
December 1, 2023 (La Mesa)-- Amanda Fagan is an accomplished 19-year-old musician who has written many songs during the past six years. She lives in La Mesa with her parents and younger sister. During a two-week stretch at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, she wrote a 23-song musical in just two weeks. A New York musical producer was so impressed that he contracted with Amanda to produce the musical. Amanda Fagan’s band will be performing at La Mesa’s Holiday in the Village on December 2 and at Balboa Park’s December Nights on December 1.
She has a treasure trove of original songs that she has produced and released on Spotify and other music streaming platforms over the last three years. Over 25 million people have taken the time to listen to her music during this time. Her songs range from pop, rock,and Indie to jazz and country–and she plans to branch out into even more musical genres..
Her songs tell stories. “Please Don’t Make Me Choose” is a song about a hero trying to resist the urge of a friend to turn to the dark side. “Monsters” describes a confused person’s battle with mental health, fighting off competing imaginary voices.“Sunken And Shattered” is a song of a friend admitting that he really wasn’t much of a friend. “December on my Mind” deals with loss during the holiday season, while “Veranda” celebrates a lifelong friendship of two students before they go off to college.
Fagan’s keyboard player, music producer, and best friend, Grace Thygeson, has a stoic seriousness that belies her gentle personality. Grace has synesthesia: meaning that she sees colors when she plays music and has an ear when it comes to musical arrangements. She has used this talent to write masterful music with Amanda.
Amanda Fagan and Grace Thygeson used to perform at coffee shops and farmers’ markets in 2019, but took an intermission for a few years during the pandemic. In 2023, the two friends decided to recruit musicians around San Diego County to form a band, and the group has been playing around San Diego and Orange County since May of this year. They bring youth, energy, and originality to the stage.
Are they good? Just ask Paolo Devecchi. He works in the fashion industry in Italy but has a lifelong love of music as well. He stumbled across Fagan’s music this past year and fell in love with it. He is now her music promoter. He flew from Italy to San Diego this past October to watch Fagan perform and to be present for a recording session for an upcoming album she is releasing in early 2024.
Paolo was offered business jobs in Dubai and Switzerland, but he turned down these offers because it would prevent him from promoting Fagan and her band. He sees big things in their future, and sees the 6,000 mile distance between Italy and La Mesa to be no problem.
Christmas is just around the corner. After that, Amanda is releasing a 6-song EP about different characters from Jane Austen stories. Amanda read all of Jane Austen’s books this past summer. After finishing each book, she would sit down at the piano and write a song about one character in the story that motivated her. Each song explores different themes of love and the music on the album is reminiscent of the classical songs from the Regency era. The album will be released on February 2, just in time for Valentine’s Day.
Read more about Amanda at her website: https://herecomesamanda.com/
Hear her music on her Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdfbpSwzOGWjiP_mRSs3ZHw
Recent comments