Megan Knight was standing in a freezing line at her American Idol audition when the judges popped out and invited her onto their yacht. She auditioned on the helicopter pad, right next to the White House, while helicopters kept flying over.

In Episode 17 of Backstage Bucks County, hosts Matt Freedman and Dustin Napoli sit down with country singer-songwriter Megan Knight. She taught herself guitar on YouTube, got hired at her first open mic at 13, and plays 150 to 200 shows a year. She tells how her dad's morning YouTube habit landed Tom Bukovac on her next album, how she manifested a show with Trey Lewis and Ella Langley, and why crowds now get mad when she plays covers instead of her own songs. She also talks about finally taking the guitar off on stage, the stranger who said her music stopped her migraines, and the advice she would give her 17-year-old self.

Chapters:

0:00 Cold Open

0:35 Meet Megan Knight

2:54 From News Anchor Dreams to Her First Open Mic

4:41 Why Her Voice Went Country

5:06 The Female Rick Rubin

6:12 Kacey Musgraves' Engineer Wants Her Drum Covers Back

7:10 Writing Her First Song at 13

8:43 Grandpa, Merle Haggard & Black and White Westerns

9:28 When Crowds Started Demanding Her Originals

11:38 Writing Season & Why She Needs a Deadline

13:19 6 Songs a Day in Muscle Shoals

15:08 The Next Album (and the Title She Won't Say)

15:59 Matt's 380 Unreleased Songs

17:17 Almost Signed by a Top 10 Manager

18:07 The 12 Songs That Scare Matt

20:51 An Album About Healing

22:23 The Song That Stopped a Stranger's Migraines

23:35 150 to 200 Shows a Year

25:12 A Quick Vocal Lesson

26:29 Saying Yes to American Idol

27:50 The Judges Were on the Yacht

29:02 Auditioning on a Helicopter Pad by the White House

29:56 They Changed Her Song the Day Of

31:06 Watching Her Soul Leave Her Body on Stage

32:00 Taking the Guitar Off

33:53 What Musicians Steal From Other Shows

36:03 What's Still Holding Her Back

37:17 Finding Her Own Vocal Pocket

39:40 Chasing the Whistle Note

41:17 Warm-Ups & the Last-Set Drink

42:20 Her Favorite Songs to Play

44:11 What Success Looks Like

46:53 Ella Langley, Her Dream Show

48:09 She Manifested a Bill With Trey Lewis

49:26 The Barefoot Poster

51:49 The Muscle Shoals Crew

52:40 Dad's Cereal & Tom Bukovac

54:49 Justin Holder & Dierks Bentley From Side Stage

56:05 How the Hosts Got Started

58:07 Advice to Her 17-Year-Old Self

58:57 Phones, Creativity & Touching Grass

1:00:07 The Ring Camera Horror Movie

1:01:20 Next Year's Goals

1:02:11 Folds of Honor & Giving Back

1:03:59 Off Days: Sims & Pilates

1:05:56 What's on Repeat

1:06:59 Her Favorite Italian Dish

1:08:43 What Only a Local Knows

1:09:31 Find Megan & Brooklyn Bowl Dec 11

See Megan live at Brooklyn Bowl Philadelphia on December 11: https://meganknightmusic.com

Watch the full video on YouTube: https://youtu.be/OKHRg6SaZqI

More episodes and guests: https://rhythm.house/backstage-bucks-county

Backstage Bucks County is produced by Rhythm House. https://rhythm.house