Singer in tune with Mangawhai

GOOD GOALS: Jamie McDell with Northland lifesavers Kyle Taylor from Ruakaka, Mangawhai Heads club captain Richard Kannemeyer, James Major and Jake Whiteman from Whangarei Heads.

By Julia West

Singer-songwriter Jamie McDell has strong connections to Mangawhai. She has been coming here since she was 12 years old when her family first bought a bach in the area. 

“We don’t belong in the city – that’s just where work is. Dad commutes and Mum now has her business here. We have the best of both worlds.”

Currently studying graphic design at AUT, Jamie is “bunking in Auckland with friends, because of my music and university, and opportunities for gigs are in Auckland a lot of the time. But I come up here often and I hope that eventually I will live here myself.”

Taken on by EMI after she sent them a demo tape when she was 16, Jamie released her first album Six Strings and a Sailboat on November 16, currently at number 2 on the Top 20 NZ album chart. 

“I’m proud of it (the album) at my age. I love it. I’m really keen to do another one. That’s a goal for next year and I’m writing all the time.”

Songwriting started as a hobby for Jamie and has now become a way of life.

“It’s more like a diary entry and an avenue for letting out emotions. I love writing my own music. I want to be portrayed as myself, be true to myself.”

Jamie’s music is described as pop/country. She is happy with the label, as her influences as a child were John Denver and Jimmy Buffet. 

“I like the structure and the storytelling. In the future I may follow a country path, definitely.”

Some of her songs on the new album have been filmed in the area. Rewind, about a relationship gone wrong, was filmed at Pakiri beach. While Life in Sunshine was filmed in and around the sand dunes near Tern Point.

Outside music, Jamie is actively involved in volunteer work. She has recently become an ambassador for Surf Lifesaving New Zealand. 

“I encourage people to volunteer, to stick around the clubs after they have qualified, and to donate.” 

Jamie is doing her surf life saving award training in Pauanui and she also plans to do some guarding in Mangawhai. 

Jamie has built up a dedicated fan base using social media, putting videos on YouTube, and doing pop-up shows. With her album doing well and having recently sang at Christmas in the Park in Christchurch and Auckland, Jamie is being asked to perform live more and more. One of her goals is to sing at the Mangawhai Tavern one day, though this summer Jamie has no major plans. 

“I just want to chill out a bit and focus on my lifeguard award and writing.”