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By James Ensor
Hometown Weekly Reporter
Part of the summer music series put on by the Friends of the Walpole Public Library, local girl Mary McAvoy gave a stunning performance on the evening of Thursday, August 25. The 2007 Walpole High graduate, who then went on to the University of New Hampshire, played acoustic and electric guitars and broke out a strong, melodious singing voice. A crowd of dozens had gathered by the time she was just performing her first song around 7:15 p.m. It was a passionate cover of Jeff Buckley’s 1994 release, “Hallelujah.”
Frank Quinn, Friend of the Walpole Library, gave her introduction. “She is truly blessed and we’re lucky to have her,” said Quinn. He went on to inform the crowd of the library’s upcoming events. The first Tuesday of each month is Alan O’Hare’s “Storytelling for All” at 7 p.m. September 14 features author Larry Lowenthal giving a talk at 7:30 p.m. about his book, “Trying To Do My Duty – Civil War Letters of the Lincolns of Brimfield.” The next day at 7 p.m., Stephen Collins will be performing “Great Words from Shakespeare.” The next musical act at the library will be on September 19 at 7:30 p.m., and it is an acoustic trio from Scotland called North Sea Gas. To round out September’s events, ArtMatters presents “The Renaissance” on September 27 at 7:30 p.m. Admission is free to all events.
McAvoy hit high notes on songs ranging from The Beatles’ “Let it Be” to one of her personal favorites, Ed Sheeran’s “Thinking out Loud.” She also performed many original songs, including the powerful “Let Me,” a song in which she tells of the need for friends in this difficult life.
“I’d like to thank everyone who came out,” said Mary. “This is a fantastic turnout for a summer night. I grew up here in Walpole so it’s this is a great feeling.” Her debut album, “Wanderlust,” is now on iTunes and Spotify, and more information about the young singer is easily accessible on marymcavoymusic.com. She also can be found on SoundCloud under the name marymac20.
At one point in the night, Mary’s producer and father got up on the stage to adjust the volume. “One day I’ll be able to pay him better,” she told the crowd, “right now- its just love.”
