Straight Out Of Dartford

TARA MCDONALD

STRAIGHT OUT OF DARTFORD

BY SHANNON RANDALL

Straight Outta Dartford is back this month with the Dartford born singer Tara McDonald. Not only is she a beautiful singer, a unique creative, an actress, and the owner of a production company but she is also an outspoken activist. In her words, “If I can do something good with what I’ve achieved then why not fight for equality through music!” Tara overcame a lot as a child that helped her get to where she is in her career today. “I always knew I wanted to sing and be on stage. It wasn’t until I was bullied at primary school that it really became my passion. I lost a lot of confidence and stopped speaking in public so my mum decided to take me to an after-school club in Eltham for performing arts. I found the courage to sing solo there one day.” From the after-school club, to a performer in ‘Les Miserables’, to a podium dancer in clubs, to a songwriter and singer...Tara now has an outstanding solo career, but has also collabed with Swedish DJ ‘Axwell’, Armand Van Helden and even David Guetta on his album ‘Pop Life’!

One of the reasons I admire Tara as a creative is down to her astonishing aesthetics. Her music videos are full of all kinds of weird and wild concepts: crazy wigs, neon colours, Alice in Wonderland-esque themes...“I really love making music videos, coming up with concepts and looks. I have a strong visual imagination and I work best with people that allow me to feel free to fully express myself. Music and fashion for me are so entwined. When I’m writing a new song, the story comes alive like a movie in my mind which dictates the look and style.”

Not only is Tara a talented creative, she also raises money and attention for important causes such as UNICEF, the LGBTQIA community and animal rights. When she was twelve she won ‘The Danny Kaye Award’ - a contest hosted by THE Audrey Hepburn- and got the chance to be a child ambassador for UNICEF. She claims that “working with the charity really opened my eyes to how much I took for granted.” Talking about what spurred on the need to raise money for the LGBTQIA community specifically, Tara commented on her naivety at assuming everyone felt the same as she did about people’s differences. “I was unaware about hate crime until one of my friends was attacked just for being gay. This of course had a big impact on me.”

Tara’s career is heading to exciting places; not only does Tara want to write her own musical, but she also wants to expand her and her partners’ production company ‘Kidz with Toys’! Speaking more personally, Tara continued to say, “I got engaged yesterday and I would really like to have children in the near future, this would be the best project of all!”

Lastly, some advice from Tara for us creative ‘wannabes’…”I would say only work in the creative industry if you love it wholeheartedly. It may happen overnight or like me could take years to make a breakthrough. Take every opportunity especially in the beginning. You have to be resilient. If it’s something you’d love to do then you have to make it happen for yourself.”

Be sure to check out Tara’s newest release and cover, ‘Outta my Head’ with DJ and producer Rawdolff. Instagram - taramcdonaldtv Twitter- @TaraMcDonaldTV

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