Maggie Clifford - Come the Rain
Photo by Javier Sampedro
Written by Zoe Smolios
With award-winning songs featured in films across the world, we spoke with Gainesville-based singer/songwriter, Maggie Clifford, about her journey with music and her new single, “Come the Rain.”
Growing up in Rochester, NY, Clifford got her start in music singing in the Eastman School of Music’s children choir. She then picked up the violin and flute, but she said it was when she got her guitar that her passion truly began.
“When I was fifteen I went to summer camp and you had an option to take guitar lessons… and I just really became enamored of the possibility of playing an instrument and singing at the same time…” the singer recalled. “After I got the guitar, I just started immediately learning a bunch of songs… and by the time I was sixteen I played in my first little café.”
After traveling to places like India and Europe, Clifford said she came back to the states and reconnected with one of her childhood best friends, Kat Wright.
The duo went on to record an album and traveled across the country together, and Clifford describes that as the real start of her career.
The singer/songwriter has since written music for films like “The King” and “ELENA,” a documentary focusing on mental health in female artists.
When it comes to writing, she says the topics are always things she’s passionate about.
“If I’m going to get to completion around a song, especially a song that is one that ends up sticking around, it’s because it came to me,” Clifford said.
The same goes for her most recent song, “Come the Rain,” which she describes as being about community, long-term care and being there for each other when things get hard.
“That came to me very organically,” she told me. “It is literally inspired by a wedding ceremony that I witnessed of a friend of mine… it actually rained on the day. It was inspired by their relationship, but I was also able to tie in some bigger themes.”
The song, meant to be a wedding gift for her friends, has since become Clifford’s first song since signing with Spirit House Records and is set to be released on June 14.
Clifford says she has to thank her manager, Brandon Telg as well as producer, Bob McPeek, for all of the hard work they put into helping her with “Come The Rain.”
The single will be available on all streaming platforms, and to keep up with Maggie Clifford and all of her upcoming projects, follow her on Instagram @mags2witches.