BIOGRAPHY
“Soaring vocals that will leave you captivated and begging for more, Mackensie Grace never disappoints.”
- CHRISTO, Fellow Artist
"Mackensie Grace’s lyrics paint a story so vivid, you feel like you’ve been absorbed into the narrative. She perfectly balances her beautiful melodic lines with her rich stories, and creates music that feeds your soul, while also making you want to dance."
- MANUELA, Fellow Artist
Mackensie Grace is a young, passionate singer-songwriter aspiring to create anything from pop-ballads, to funk, to her fresh and modern take on jazz. Having been writing songs for nearly a decade, Mackensie has grown to confidently take on any songwriting challenge thrown her way.
You could say that Mackensie grew up with music. Her parents, Treve and Kellie Clayton, started a band just before she was born known as The Void, a band whose singles: Control and Short People Blues were played on national radio stations: 95bFM & More FM. Ever since she was in the womb, Mackensie attended each and every practice and gig the band ever had.
At 13, Mackensie wrote her first song which she performed to approximately 500 students in her high school assembly hall. Looking back she says, "As silly as I realise the song was now, students and teachers alike seemed to be really into it . I think that was the defining moment for me where I thought “Huh, maybe I could do this all the time”.’
Four years on, Mackensie went on an exchange to New York, where she performed solo in front of the Casting Director for the hit Broadway musical ‘An American in Paris’, who was blown away by her voice and her ability to pour emotion into her performance.
In that same year, Mackensie was approached by two of her peers to be the sole Composer and Musical Director for their own original musical production titled ‘Four Out Of Five’. The head of the school’s drama department was excited by the idea of a production written, directed and acted by the students of the school, so they were soon underway. Mackensie wrote 10 original songs that were recorded and sung live by the actors, and her work in this production lead her to win the Dux Artium Female award, the most prestigious Arts award at her school.
Mackensie was one of only 15 students, amongst many who auditioned, to be allowed into The University of Auckland’s Popular Music degree in 2016. Throughout her degree, she learned to refine her songwriting and develop her own unique style as an artist. Aside from this, Mackensie also gained a wealth of experience in writing to specific criteria throughout her time at varsity. This is something that she was approached for specifically by Damon Keen, the Digital Advisor for the New Zealand Green Party who, after hearing her material, asked the artist if she could attempt writing music to suit a short video promo advertising an up-and-coming anti-climate change policy they would soon be implementing. Keen was very impressed by the final product, and it was released on their Young Greens of Aotearoa New Zealand facebook page.
Mackensie Grace is experienced in writing heartfelt ballads, with stories about anything from classic heartbreak to larger issues such as global warming and internet privacy, she is an expert in writing emotional lyrics and soaring vocal melodies. However, in recent years, Mackensie has broadened her horizons. Her more recent material includes a modern jazz-pop fusion sound, paired with her sexy lyrics, it just makes you want to move your hips.
“Mackensie brought me to tears with her “audition” for the Broadway casting director. She has joined her talent for music
and drama and produced some of the most memorable performances. The casting director could not hide his surprise either!”
- Milica Zjajic-Moon,
Head of Arts Faculty at Mount Albert Grammar School