Written by: Nekia Fondren
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She came. She sang. She conquered.
Maria Garay was greeted with a packed house for her release party on July 23rd for the release of her Troubled Paradise EP. Her mic draped in roses, the Loud Gallery was sure to keep on theme. You couldn’t help but feel like you were in a paradise all your own – and that’s before the music kicked in.
The night kicked off with an amazing interview from two-time Stellar Award recipient, Mimi Mala – one of two hosts on WOKB1680AM/FM Peace on The Streets!
Opening with ‘Incomparable’, fans cheered to finally be able to get a first listen of these songs. Maria came with a sound all of her own mixing some of that Miami taste in with a bit of soul and giving us just a few moments of Top 40 feels. She followed up with the self-titled song – "Troubled Paradise". She captured the audience, me included, giving everyone their own private show. Connecting with the sea of tables one after the other it was hard to not feel entranced by her voice. It’s hard to believe she’s still a student.
A homage to hometown Miami she gets the crowd ready as well with lines like “We’re in Miami want to go dancin’. Livin’ it up like we’re livin’ in mansions”. This happened to be one of those amazing moments in live shows where the artists invites you to sing along to the song with them – by the end I’m sure I wasn’t the only one who had memorized this song and started singing it to myself by the time I was driving home.
One of the best parts of the night however, centered around the duet she gave with Dwight Lavon, a previous Full Sail Hall of Fame performer. We were also gifted with an anecdote about the fact that he had just learned and recorded the track just days prior. They killed the night with beautiful harmonies holding everyone’s attention with mere notes. Ending the EP is the illustrious “Mr. Perfect”. The anthem to finding that special someone.
Closing the night with a thank you to the audience we’re definitely giving her our seal of approval and we’re looking forward to the next show.
Go check out her EP Troubled Paradise streaming NOW on Spotify, Apple Music, and Soundcloud
And be sure to follow her on these platforms:
Twitter: @mariagaraymusic
Instagram: @mariagaraymusic
Facebook: mariagaraymusic
Spotify: Maria Garay
Also be sure to check out artist Dwight Lavon
Instagram: @iamdwightlavon
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