Bandleader hopes to “get people shaking their butt a little bit”

Published 1:30 am Thursday, November 8, 2018

It’s not often you can hear live music for $5. That’s what’s happening Nov. 15 at the Marysville Opera House, with the popular Margaret Wilder Band coming back for its second appearance there this year.

“We keep coming back,” Wilder said. “I just love the building. It’s not often we play a theater stage with that kind of look.”

For those who haven’t heard the band perform, she considers their music “a mashup” of styles. Her background is in blues, jazz and pop. As a songwriter, she likes to incorporate influences from soul, rhythm and blues, rock and pop.

That mix tends to appeal to a wide group of people, she said.

What does she have planned for next week’s appearance in Marysville?

“Stuff that gets people shaking their butt a little bit,” Wilder said.

Music lessons Wilder took as a teen from a jazz pianist greatly influenced her career. Her teacher encouraged her, helping her learn how to write songs. “It was really life-changing,” she said.

When she first began performing professionally, it was as a keyboardist who occasionally would “sing a few songs here and there.”

“It was so personal for me, the thought of putting it out there (on stage) was really hard,” she said.

It wasn’t until her mid-20s, when people more regularly heard her sing, that she began to realize her vocal talent. She went on to form her own band and became its lead singer.

Last year she released her own extended play album, with titles such as “Breathe” and “Set Free.”

Now 42, more than two decades into her career, she said it’s still unusual for women to be performing the blues — that it remains a male-dominated industry.

There aren’t many examples of female keyboard players being the lead vocalist, she said.

Wilder said she likes people to see how much fun she’s having in her performances and for the audience to share her joy.

“I just want people to feel something — whatever they’re in the mood for, I try to grab it,” she said. “You can’t help but tap your foot. It’s a good time.”

Sharon Salyer: 425-339-3486 or salyer@heraldnet.com.

If you go

What: Margaret Wilder Band

When: 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Nov. 15

Where: Marysville Opera House, 1225 Third St., Marysville

Tickets: $5 at the door

More: 360-363-8000 or www.marysvillewa.gov