Changing up the date format for this one because Mariah is so cool. Every couple of date features we’re going to dive into a full-on music rundown, and Mariah’s interview was the perfect way to start. She’s one of the Philly music scene’s most notable session artists and likely the most free-spirited performer you’ll ever come across. Currently fronting L+M with Trap Rabbit keyboardist Logan Roth, Del Rio has also played with Rachel Andie and the Fifth Element and Sonni Shine. Her list of collaborations goes on, which is admirable because she’s not local to the city. Her obvious passion for love and connection and finding new ways to close the gap between audience and performer make her a charming and important asset to Philly music, and I feel like I stumbled upon a true hidden gem of an artist while talking to her. She has a way of making you feel incredibly important and special when she talks to you, and that energy is translated times ten while onstage.

You’re from Utah - what brought you all the way out to Philly? Let’s start at the very beginning.

Mariah: I moved here from Utah to go to school for musical theater. I studied jazz for a year out in Utah and I just wasn’t fulfilled. I wanted to dance and I wanted to act and I knew something was missing. My best friend from Utah moved here and went to University of the Arts and I visited her before I moved and I fell in love with Philly. I thought it was so cool, and my best friend was here which was comforting, and the school’s vibe was so cool. The other schools I looked at and shadowed felt very boxy. I looked at Boston Conservatory and I got accepted to Cornish in Seattle, but I had a teacher tell me that trying to make connections from Utah to New York is so difficult, so if you’re closer to the city, like in Philly, you’ll have an easier time. My grandma also lives in Jersey so I was set. I auditioned for UArts and the first year I didn’t get in which is why I did jazz for a year first, and then I got in the following year. They accepted me on my birthday which was dope, and then I moved here when I was 20. I actually took a year off before I started college at all, and during that time I toured with my boyfriend - he was a poet - and we just drove around in the back of his truck. I played guitar and sang sometimes aside from just being the girlfriend.

Was musical theater your absolute goal after college?

Mariah: When I graduated, I was all about just being in musicals. I knew I wanted to be in new or weird musicals, though. I found through school that my voice didn’t fit to the stereotypical “musical theater” sound and I had more of a soul and jazz voice and that actually got me roles because I was different. So there wasn’t really a niche for me here. I thought I was going to move to New York and I was really set on doing that, but I just started meeting everyone in the music community here. I met Logan first. That was my “in” to the scene. It’s not that I’ve given up on theater, but I was just tired of having to get opportunities by waiting for other people to give them to me. I was burnt out from auditions and I get nervous for them since they’re just all about who you are in that one moment. I got callbacks for some bigger roles in New York, but I think I kind of just turned into a singer-songwriter instead. I took a songwriting class during my senior year of college and that was the first time I ever wrote music.

Emily: Your stuff is so great, I never would have guessed. L+M has some of the most unique lyrics I’ve heard.

Mariah: I like to say I was always a songwriter at heart, I just didn’t give myself permission to do it. I thought I wouldn’t be good at it or good enough. I’ve been studying the structure of songs and storytelling and I think that’s what made songwriting easier. Musical theater is truly just a structure for a story to be held, so I think it helped me start writing songs. I had an amazing teacher, Cesar Alvarez, and they were amazing. They were my go-to person during my senior year. They really pushed me to be who I am now. “You have to be a writer. You’re going to be a writer. You have a story to tell.” They encouraged me to change my name to Mariah Del Rio - I used to be Mariah Richard. That’s my name legally but Del Rio is my mom’s maiden name. We’re Cuban and they were like, “hold that name with pride.” So I formed this new image of myself that I felt could be a songwriter and an independent artist. But the last theater show I did was last June at Vassar College’s New York Stage and Film Fest, and I do miss it. I actually just joined REC Philly and I was hoping to use their studio space to film auditions and get new headshots done and try to actively push towards doing theater again. Being in two shows a year even would be so helpful for my spirit.

What were your first couple encounters with the Philly music scene as an artist?

Mariah: I met Logan, and he invited me to the Grape Room and I sang there like every week. Within two weeks I met Rachel Andie and we just clicked. I spent all my time with the two of them and Arjun [Dube, Trap Rabbit}. Logan brings a lot of musicians around so it was just a kind of natural connection.

Emily: I’ve noticed, yeah. That whole circle is so entwined with so many other groups of artists. It’s so awesome. I like everyone I’ve met through them.

Mariah: When Logan and I met we had 0 friends in common on Facebook when we met, and now we have like 300. I’m really grateful I met him and Rachel because I don’t know how I would have done this. Like in college, you have 13 classes with the same people every semester. Like, class until 5:00, rehearsal until 11:00, and you’re not going out on the weekends. I was in a bubble and wasn’t meeting anyone outside of school. I don’t know how else I would have done it, and I think UArts should have done a better job of helping to integrate students into that scene.

Emily: I thought this scene was so big while I was still in college, but it’s not. I know you know Maggie McHale [PBG Management: Trap Rabbit, Sophie Coran], and we actually went to school together. And I watched a lot of what she was doing after graduation and thought she was so fucking cool for breaking into this major scene. And then just from even doing this date interview series, I met Trap Rabbit, which brought me to you, which brought me to Sophie Coran, which brought me to Taylor Kelly, etc. etc. It’s just a domino effect of connections and I love this city for that. My Facebook friends have gone from like, 0 to 100 just because of all these projects, and The Key has been so amazing, I’m eternally grateful for that job. It’s all interconnected and cliquey but certainly not in a bad way.

What was the defining moment when you first realized that you were officially recognized as an artist in your own right in the Philly scene?

Mariah: I started playing with Kuf Knotz, and I started performing as his singer for a while before he was with Christine Elise, and I was just singing whatever he’d already written. Then he recommended me to Sonni, and Rachel and I were already best friends and I was playing with her too. So I floated for a while, but I think the moment was when I was noticed because people knew I had something to offer. Not that you can’t be in the scene and just be, but I was worried that I was just going to be this “theater girl” rather than just seen as me. When I was looked at as “Mariah, an individual who wants to play in other people’s projects” it made me feel very respected and seen. I feel like the fact that people do know me is reassuring. But I still fangirl - when I finally met Taylor Kelly for the first time we were just in a bar and I was like “I need to be her.” She’s absolutely the best.

Emily: Oh my god - one thing I’ve absolutely learned is that it is okay to be a little annoying. All I’ve done since I’ve graduated is just tactfully push my way in to all these different corners of Philly music. I think the moment though - at least mine - was when you’re no longer referred to as someone’s “friend” or “she’s just here because she knows somebody.” It’s when you’re there because you’re there and you should be there. I think that’s a super important difference between existing in the scene and actually contributing to it. It’s easy to do but it’s intimidating to break in at first.

Mariah: This quarantine has made me think so much about what I haven’t done and what I want to do. L+M hasn’t put out music in a year.

Emily: Is L+M your only full time solo project?

Mariah: Yeah. I do have original music that I haven’t done anything with yet. There’s a song called “Let Me Reach You” on our EP that I wrote before I met Logan, so that’s like my me piece. That’s the song where I discovered writing and it’s still one of my favorites. But sometimes I struggle with thinking, “what is my sound as a solo artist?” because my sound that I create with Logan is definitely activated because I’m with Logan. I wonder sometimes what would happen if I just did a solo project. Like five songs. There are a few old songs I have that I’ve never played with anyone before so I’m thinking about it.

Emily: L+M is definitely very theatrical. I like that it’s vocal and keys/synth heavy because that’s unique and fits both of your personalities. But if you were to do a project, what do you think it would sound like? Similar to L+M or do you have something totally different in mind?

Mariah: I think if it was just me it would lean more toward R&B. That’s what I’ve always naturally wanted to do and I think that’s my natural vocal tone. My ear is drawn toward that music. I’d like to think that if I worked on a full project it would sound more soulful.

What Was your all-time favorite Philly performance?

Mariah: I hosted an event called Philly Funhouse - my dream was to create an interactive concert. I wanted something that closed the gap between performer and audience so I wanted there to be an integration somehow. I wanted there to be wandering performers that interacted with the audience and stuff. So the last one we did was called “Super Bloom,” and it was themed around 70’s flower power. We had a glitter bar and some of the wandering characters bedazzled so many people while she was walking around. We were the last ones to perform and I remember everyone walked in totally decked out. I wanted people to just feel free and childlike, that was the whole goal. We had a guy who would write up poems on the spot for people. We had someone read tarot cards. People loved that. We also had an interactive installation. It was this cool blooming paper flower people could sit under. That performance in particular just created such a space of fun and vulnerability. I watched the video back - and I’ve always written such sad music - and people were dancing to it. We threw it at The Boom Room, and Logan did the run of show and was in charge of the performers, but booking and creative direction was all me. Suzanne Sheer performed, Rubber was there. Everyone really loved it and I just wish there was more of that in Philly.

Emily: Yeah a lot of people in the industry do kind of put on a front of like, “I’m cool. I have to be cool.” This sounds amazing. I wish I’d known you then.

Mariah: That’s what I want to bring to the scene. I have a theatrical background and I think that helps me be a performer who’s very communicative who can tell stories not only with words but with my face. I want to push boundaries past just singing on stage. I want to integrate the audience into the show and expanding your perception of yourself while performing just totally changes what you can feel.

Emily: I truly have not talked to anyone who is doing half of the things that you do which is the main reason why I wanted to talk to you. I think you’re one of the most unique faces we have and what you’re doing to bring the things you love together with what the scene already has is so important. And like I said there is that cool factor of being in the scene, and I’m guilty of it. Sometimes I’ll go to a show and be like, “I’m here with a purpose. I’m here professionally so I am cool.” But also it’s so cool to just not care. Shows are about connection and I think audiences overlook the different types of connections you can have because they don’t necessarily open themselves up to them the way you do.

What’s your favorite tour story?

Mariah: I went on my first tour with Rachel and that was really fun. I’d never like, agreed to being in a car for forever. It was a pretty short tour but it was great. I didn’t have to sleep on the floor at all so I guess it was lavish that way. But we also had a tour with Sonni’s old band, The Underwater Sounds, and they did a front-to-back cover set of “The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill.” That set was just for one show. Elise Testone, a finalist on American Idol one season, put together this absolute powerhouse of a band with members of Snarky Puppy, dudes who played with Prince, and Lauryn Hill’s drummer, and they were doing an Amy Winehouse tribute. So they asked Sonni’s band to do the Lauryn Hill tribute. I have no idea how they found her but they did. So we did that and toured with them and it was crazy. We were playing with some serious musicians, and they were all so nice.

Emily: You lucked out with that being one of your first tour experiences.

Mariah: That album was hard. I have such an appreciation for it because it sounds like a hip hop album but it’s so so complex.

Who are some of your favorite Philly bands that you haven’t performed with?

Mariah: I’ve always wanted to play with Johnny Showcase. I see him and I’m like, “Please! I’m a weirdo!” I’d love to play with Taylor Kelly. Koser reached out to me a couple weeks ago. Logan played a show with her and then she reached out to me because she saw me on his Instagram. She was like, “You’re dope!” and I was like “Uhh you’re dope!” I want to be her friend. I think our voices would work so well together.

Emily: Do you prefer to float around projects? Or do you wish you had an established band that you could always comfortably go back to?

Mariah: Is it bad to want both?

Emily: No! They both obviously have perks.

Mariah: I definitely like being involved in multiple projects because one of the things I miss the most about musical theater is forming these families that work together. That just bonds you. I’d like to think that I work well with others and I want to help people further their vision in whatever way I can. Whether that’s backup vocals or helping write lyrics, I just want to be involved. I get complacent with just being in one thing. But I do also wish that I would have done more with L+M and I have to just stop shaming myself about it. It’s true that I do have to do more for it, and that’s why I joined REC Philly. I have to stop comparing myself to all of these amazing artists and stop wondering “why me?”

Emily: You so clearly belong within that group that you’re talking about because of all the selfless work that you do. Even if I didn’t know you before this, that’s evident just from talking to you for an hour.

Mariah: I haven’t just been doing nothing for a year either, for sure. I just see how much Trap Rabbit has grown even within the last year, and it’s just a difference between pushing for it and not. Logan and I have had this conversation and I have to take the reins with L+M because Logan is in a busy project. But that’s also a blessing because I get to make this more of my own. I wanted to have creative control of something, so there it is. I just think a lot of this is the difference between doing and not doing. But you have to just try and reach out in order to see what you can really do, and I don’t think I’ve tried yet. So I can’t give up before I do that.

The Date Where Mariah Del Rio Gets a Full Music Feature