Cheesy Girl

DYLAN did it, Joni Mitchell did it, and so did Jeff Buckley. Now another talented singer-songwriter is following in the footsteps of the greats – by hitting the coffee shop circuit.

Unlike her predecessors, however, this musician is setting up stage not in the cafes of Greenwich Village, New York, but in our very own Caffé Nero.

Former child prodigy Emily Maguire has come a long way since the days she was playing to 20 people in East Anglian church halls.

The former Cambridge troubadour has released her third album, her single I’d Rather Be is being played all over Radio 2, and she is now showcasing her best-loved songs by playing a national coffee shop tour – which today pitches up at the High Street café at 7pm.

The Caffé Nero tour aims to bring her lilting voice, engaging lyrics and sublime melodies to fans and curious onlookers and relaxing surroundings. Certainly her Oxford venue couldn’t be more different to the usual dingy gig venue. Forget sticky floors, bar scrums, and lairy punters spilling beer, and instead think comfy chairs, cool surroundings and big mugs of steaming Americano. Oh, and it’ll be free.

“I’ve been really looking forward to it,” says Emily. “I love Oxford. I’ve played the city a few times before and I love coming back. It’s a beautiful place and it’s always a pleasure to be here.”

So why a Joan Baez-style coffee shop gig?

“Cafés are great little places where people can sit, relax, have a hot drink, and listen to my songs. They are nice quiet environments and really lend themselves to live acoustic music. And it’s not as if I’m playing death metal!

“I’m following that troubadour tradition which also helped launch singers like Tracy Chapman. And, of course, it’s a free night out, which, in January when people are still short of money, is amazing.”

Classically trained on piano, cello, recorder and flute, Emily was a genuine childhood prodigy. Taught to read music when she was only three, the poor girl didn’t really have a choice but to fall into a career as a jobbing musician.

“My parents were really into music, and wanted me and my sister to be able to play,” she explains. “We didn’t have a TV, which as kids we felt a bit deprived of, but we played music and read books, and thought that was perfectly normal.”

By the time she was 12, she seemed destined to be a professional cellist, playing in competitions, attending chamber music courses, and being taught by Jacqueline du Pre’s teacher Paul Tortelier.

And she admits she was quite happy with her sedate life of books and Bach… until she discovered reggae. “I totally fell in love with Bob Marley when I was a teenager, and when I got a guitar for my 21st birthday, I taught myself to play his songs first. If I’m feeling stressed out I’ll still put on some Bob Marley – or some Bach. They both make me feel like everything’s all right.”

Emily’s life changed forever when she flew out to Australia for what was supposed to be a three-week holiday.

Persuaded to stay on the Sunshine Coast by partner and Aussie producer Christian Dunham, she not only found her voice as an artist, but also acquired an enviable reputation as a cheese maker of distinction – while dodging snakes and spiders in a shack made from recycled wood, tin and potato sacks.

That was seven years ago, and, when not over here on tour, home is still that small Queensland farm.

“I love my shack,” she says. “And it’s so warm there. I was making goat’s cheese which paid for my second album – including the tickets back to the UK. And I’m a good cheesemaker, which is a bit of a surprise as I’m not a very good cook.”

So popular were her organic dairy goods, that when she left the farm on tour, her customers would panic, worrying where they were going to get their cheese from while she was gone.

“People got quite addicted to it and they would get really upset when I left,” she laughs. “They would come up to the farm asking where I was. Once my mother-in-law had to tell them I was playing the Royal Albert Hall with (American Pie legend) Don McLean. They didn’t care about that, though – they just wanted their cheese. They felt quite put out!”

I suggest today’s trip might be a good opportunity to meet up with our own muso-cheesemaker, Alex James, who lives up the road on a 200-acre farm near Kingham, in the Oxfordshire Cotswolds.

“I’d love to get some tips from him,” she grins. “After all, like they say, blessed are the cheesemakers!”

Emily Maguire plays Caffé Nero in High Street, Oxford, at 7pm tonight.

Her album Believer is out now on Shaktu Records. All 515 Caffé Neros across the UK – including the branches in Gloucester Green, Oxford; and in Banbury – will be playing tunes from the album at 3.15pm every day this month and next.