By Darlene Brace
If you enjoy listening to live music, then you will want to go out to where Miranda Wilcox is performing. Miranda is a senior at Falconer High School who is an extremely talented singer-songwriter that performs in Western New York and Northwestern Pennsylvania. Although she is only 18 years old, she is becoming a prominent performer in this area’s live music scene. Read on to see how this all came to be.
Miranda is the youngest of three children and comes from a musically oriented family. Her father and sister play the guitar, and she said that her mom has an amazing musical ear. At seven years old, Miranda started piano lessons, taught herself to play guitar at 12, and took vocal lessons in middle school. Miranda said, “The piano lessons were building blocks that helped nurture my natural talent and musical ear.”
Starting at 10 years old, she participated in Chautauqua’s Got Talent until she was 17. This experience taught her a lot about stage presence and performing in front of an audience. She has been in several of Falconer High School’s musical plays, including the lead roles as Belle in Beauty and the Beast in 2023 and as Sandy in Grease in 2024. Miranda said, “These musicals were amazing experiences. I was so grateful to get these roles and they are some of my favorite experiences.”
She also has been mentored by the Falconer High School chorus teacher Ann Mogenhan, who worked with Miranda, helping her develop a classical style of singing. This helped show Miranda how to use her voice in different ways, which helped prepare her for her college audition at SUNY Fredonia. She has already auditioned and has been accepted to start there this fall. Miranda will attend Fredonia’s School of Music as a Music Education major.
Miranda’s first professional three-hour gig was at the age of 16 at Wicked Warren’s and she has continued similar performances ever since. She has played in a variety of venues ranging from nursing homes to restaurants and breweries. She often plays at venues such as Big Inlet Brewing, Busti Tap House, Five and 20 in Westfield, Roger Tory Peterson Institute, Southern Tier Brewing/Distillery and many more. She plays a wide variety of genres from the 1950s music through current. She reads her audience and plays whatever she feels the audience will enjoy.
Miranda is also a part of three-piece band called Miranda and The Line. This band includes herself, Robert Suber on bass, and Garrett Carlson on drums. She said she enjoys collaboration with her band members and that the band has a fun energetic lively vibe.
Miranda is a song writer and performs some of her original music. Started at the age 13, she has written over 100 songs. Miranda said, “Writing music is a great outlet for me. The inspiration of writing a song is sometimes when I get the urge to tell a story, but most often it is based on when I have had huge personal life experiences, and I can express my feelings.” On May 1, 2024, Miranda recorded and released her first full length album of 14 originals called Black Eyeliner. The songs range from acoustic ballads to toe tapping tunes and more. You can stream her music through Spotify, Apple Music, and You Tube etc.
Some of her upcoming performances will be at Five and 20 Spirits on May 17, at She Sings Café
May 31, and Southern Tier Brewing June 23rd. She is excited to be opening for Michael Glabicki on August 17 at the Roger Tory Peterson Institute. Michael is a former lead singer for Rusted Root, and now he’s in a band called Uprooted. You can find out information about these events as well as the dates and times of all of Miranda’s performances on her Facebook and Instagram pages under Miranda Wilcox Music.
Miranda is an extraordinary and super talented young woman and mature beyond her years. She said,
“Music is a huge part of my life and is my passion. Music should be a part of people’s lives. Some people like to play music but are afraid to put themselves out there and express their music to the public. Anyone who is interested should try it out and see how good it feels to express yourself in front of an audience.”
If you get a chance, find out where Miranda is performing and go check it out. You will enjoy a great time out listening to the great music of the talented Miranda Wilcox.