Megan Moroney has had quite the star turn of a year.
Last summer, she dropped her sophomore album “Am I Okay?” Since then, she won new artist of the year at the Country Music Awards, graced the cover of Rolling Stone, recorded an NPR Tiny Desk concert, won the Billboard Women in Music rulebreaker award and recorded a song with her idol Kenny Chesney.
That’s a lot for a 27-year-old who originally enrolled at the University of Georgia as an accounting major.
The Savannah-born, Douglasville-raised artist learned to play guitar as a child, and in her free time, she’d record covers of country songs. But music was just a hobby until she performed at a party hosted by her sorority, Kappa Delta.
Soon after, she switched majors and graduated from UGA in 2020 with a digital marketing degree from the school’s music business program. She moved to Nashville that year but didn’t think she’d be a big country music star.
“I tell my fans if this all went away tomorrow, I would still feel like the luckiest girl in the world,” she said.
This week, Moroney will perform her final Georgia shows for her “Am I Okay?” Tour (she also performed two sold-out shows in Athens last month). She’ll hit the stage in Savannah, where most of her family still lives, for concerts on May 29 and May 30. Fellow Georgia country singer Mackenzie Carpenter will open the show.
Credit: Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP
Credit: Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP
While Moroney said she’s working on new music, she’s still “very much in my Am I Okay? era,” given she’ll be touring until October.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution caught up with Moroney to talk about her upcoming shows and recent success.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
Q: What’s been the most rewarding part of this tour?
A: I think the most rewarding would be for me, as a songwriter, to hear literally every single person in the room scream every single word. They don’t even miss a syllable. I was on tour with Kenny Chesney last year, which I think really helped my live performance and my confidence. I definitely grew a lot as an artist on that tour, but to be back with my fans and know that every person is going to know every single word, it’s just been like so much fun. It feels like a party every single night.
Q: You recently performed in Athens. What was that crowd like?
A: Those were insane. Those were some of my favorite shows on the tour. I love being back home in Athens. I got to walk around during the day and show some of my team where I used to go to class, so that was so much fun. But the show itself was also just nuts. It was very nostalgic to be back. It was just crazy to me because I remember telling the crowd (that) five years ago, I was a student taking classes, and now we have two sold-out nights at this arena. I was hoping that it would encourage or inspire someone out there to go after their dreams.
Q: It gets even wilder to think about, considering all of the accolades you’ve received in the past year.
A: It’s actually crazy when I moved to Nashville back in 2020, I had no idea if it was gonna work or not. It was right in the middle of COVID, too. So everything was very uncertain, in general. I just remember thinking well, at least I have my degree, so, worst-case scenario, if I don’t get to be an artist, maybe I’ll work for a label and still be involved in the music industry because I just love music so much. It definitely wasn’t like, “Oh, I’m gonna get here and I’m gonna be a big star. That’s not where my brain went at all. I think having realistic parents helped me as well. They kind of kept me grounded in all that.
Credit: Handout
Credit: Handout
Q: How have you been able to process your recent success?
A: It’s beyond my wildest dreams. It’s mind-blowing. (Being) on the cover of Rolling Stone — that was something where I was like, ‘Oh wow. Maybe my music career is working.’ When you’re in the middle of it, you can’t see the progress as much because you’re living it every day. But when things like that happen, like (being honored) at Billboard Women in Music and being a country artist at an all-genre event with artists like Tyla, Doechii and Meghan Trainor. It’s just like, ‘Oh, I thought I was just this girl from Douglasville, Georgia, and now I’m out here, and it seems to be working.’
I really don’t think that I have fully processed everything. because it’s just like one thing after the next. But I think that I do try to take time to just be grateful for everything that’s happened.
Q: This month, you dropped your duet “You Had to Be There” with Kenny Chesney, one of your idols with whom you toured last year. How did that come about?
A: I always write about things that are important to me and that tour was a big part of my life last year. I do think it kind of changed the trajectory of my career in the way that I gained confidence, and having a mentor like Kenny Chesney was really amazing. I wanted to write about the tour. Then, I kind of gave (the song) to him as a Christmas gift. I wrote the lyrics out and gave it to him, but I was like, no pressure (to be on it). We don’t have to ever put this out. I just want you to know that I appreciate you so much. And he ended up loving it.
Credit: LM Otero Invision/AP
Credit: LM Otero Invision/AP
Q: What can fans expect from your Savannah shows?
A: From what I’ve heard online, everyone calls the ‘Am I Okay?’ Tour group therapy. It’s pretty hilarious and also true because I literally look out and there are times in the show where everyone’s laughing. There are times where everyone’s crying. It’ll just be very exciting.It’ll be the last shows of the Am I Okay? Tour in Georgia, so I know all my Georgia girls will be showing up and showing out.
Q: Do you have a favorite thing to do when you’re back home in Savannah?
A: I think my favorite thing to do when I’m home is literally nothing. My parents live on the water, so I like to literally just go lay on the porch and do nothing.
IF YOU GO
Megan Moroney- Am I Okay? Tour
8 p.m. on Thursday and Friday. $150-700. Enmarket Arena. 620 Stiles Ave., Savannah. 912-468-5177. enmarketarena.com
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