Promising songwriters Madilyn Mei, M.J. Ward unite at the Phoenix in Petaluma

In another era, young singer-songwriters might have had to perform at a long string of store openings and small-town bars before they finally began to build fan base and acquire a repertoire.

Now, thanks to YouTube, Spotify, TikTok and other online outlets, creative new talents can connect directly with people who appreciate their music.

One example is Madilyn Mei, 20, of Phoenix, Arizona, who will play the Phoenix Theater in Petaluma this month.

“This will be my first show as a headliner,” she said. “I started writing songs in the fifth grade, and in the seventh grade, I started doing small shows in coffee shops.”

By now, Mei comes with a fan following — 163,000 connections on Instagram alone.

“I am getting lots of comments from people who follow me online,” she said. “Some of them say they’ll be at the show.”

Even the internet can’t guarantee instant fame, but it’s a start.

“Right now, I work at Target, and I hope to eventually work full-time at music,” Mei said.

“I write songs about little things. I write about people I know — with aliases, of course,” she added. “And I make up stuff. I try to find new ways to say things that have been said thousands of times before.”

It helps to have support.

“My mom said she’d treat music as my college education, if I took it seriously,” Mei said.

For such a young performer, Mei’s tastes include some classic acts.

“I just got to see Elton John for my 20th birthday,” she said. “It was awesome.”

Mei’s guest star for the Petaluma concert is even younger than she is: M.J. Ward, 14, a ninth-grader in the ArtQuest program at Santa Rosa High School.

“We’re friends on social media, and he reached out,” Mei said.

Like Mei, Ward started young and has amassed a pool of songs available online.

“Madilyn and I had followed each on social media,” Ward said. “I wanted someone to perform with, so I wrote to her.”

Ward figures he has written more than 200 songs; he’s released 25 so far.

“I started writing music about three years ago and just released my first song back in March,” Ward said. “I did my first show at the Phoenix last May.”

So far, most of his performances have been at community fundraisers. But were we able to fast-forward 10 years, who knows where we might find his name on the marquee?

You can reach Staff Writer Dan Taylor at dan.taylor@pressdemocrat.com or 707-521-5243. On Twitter @danarts.