"When I write a song," says local singer/songwriter Megan Lane, "I'm not conscious at all of the genre. I don't choose a genre. It just comes out the way it comes out."

Megan's career in music began when she started attending the weekly Blues Jam at Bud's on Broadway - an event which has helped launch the careers of many Prairie blues artists - and has since gone on to making regular appearances at festival gigs and night spots throughout Saskatchewan and Alberta. Around the same time she began attending the Jam sessions she started writing her own material and in March of 2004, she performed (with the help of her band) and produced her very first album, entitled Purple and Blue, an effort that is, in the words of the artist, "doing well."

Armed with youthful energy, emotive vocals and her soulful blues guitar, the trio (which includes drummer Bryce Lemky and bassist Dai Kobayashi) have been garnering rave reviews on the Prairie Music Scene.

While she is primarily perceived a blues performer, Megan does not pigeonhole herself so easily. "I don't find Purple and Blue to be a blues album," she declares. "I think it's a lot of different music genres but the foundation is blues. It's blues-based." The album, which is a playful mix of lyric and sound, finely showcases Megan's diverse tastes as well as her emotional connection to the music.

Her choice of the blues as a dominant form of expression could be seen as somewhat unconventional for someone her age, but to that Megan responds, "physically, I've been around for sixteen years but when it comes to me as an individual and you sit down and get to know me, you wouldn't think that spiritually, mentally or emotionally that I've been around for just sixteen years."

"I just found out a little bit more about who I was a little bit earlier, I guess."

Still, 'Old Soul' or not, Megan did encounter some early resistance to her desire to perform based primarily on her age. "When I was younger it was harder for people to take me seriously but now it's definitely an advantage for me. I could definitely use my age to my advantage but I don't think my age should have anything to do with my music. I want to be a good musician, not a good 'sixteen-year old girl' musician. Although sometimes I wonder where I would be without being a sixteen-year old girl. Without having this physical aspect, how different it would be for me in this industry."

This June, Megan will be returning to familiar ground as she makes her third appearance in as many years performing at the SaskTel Saskatchewan Jazz Festival. "I've played there a couple of years in a row now," she says, "and [this year] we have two shows. The 25th at The Bassment at 9 P.M. and then the Star Phoenix Stage on the 30th at 8 P.M."

"[It'll be] an energetic and very versatile, musically dynamic show. Expect a good time as always."