In a dimly lit cocktail bar, surrounded by plants and a sophisticated Jimmy Buffett vibe, a crowd of friends and family revels upon a singer they haven’t heard perform in years. Her voice floats out to her loved ones, sweet and melodic. Her mother sings along quietly to herself. Her sister FaceTimes from Australia and her partner not-so-sneakily sneaks in with a bouquet of pink, red and cream roses.
“Let’s bring the vibes up,” she says from her keyboard. “Does anyone know of a small artist named Elton John?”
Marlo Owczarzak is a 29-year-old indie-pop and folk singer-songwriter from St. John, Indiana, living in Chicago. She started releasing music in 2019 with her song “Open Road.” However, she hasn’t released anything new since 2020, nor has she performed in front of a big crowd since — until now. On March 5, Owczarzak broke her five-year hiatus, joining three other music artists to put on a show with Breaking Sound, a music solutions company that organizes events across the country. The laid-back jam session took place at Broken Shaker at Freehand Chicago.
After she released her EP “Broken Lyrics” in 2019 and then her single “Cities” one year later, she performed some smaller shows and focused on self-promotion. Owczarzak said she had “grand plans” from there but fell out of practice and performance, more so after the COVID-19 pandemic. “Then a lot of that artistic doubt kept creeping in,” she said.
What’s helped her grow and motivate herself as an artist is practicing and creating things daily, reading “The Artist’s Way” by Julia Cameron and journaling.
To create small things each day is much more “systematic” than what others may perceive. She said that the more people create, even when it’s little by little, the more they can learn what they actually really like from it. “It is easier emotionally to get everything out and then return to it rather than trying to wait for something to happen because it’s few and far between, I think.”
For the singer-songwriter, making music is a creative practice that she can get “completely lost in” — especially when it comes to performance. “It’s not that it’s an out of body experience, but within performing, I do feel a different part of me come to the surface,” she said. “She takes over and she puts on the show.”
During her performance, she was shown unwavering support with how many loved ones packed the lounge. Her family was always supportive of her pursuing her artistry from the age of 3 years old.
Megan Owczarzak said that she always thought her daughter would end up on “American Idol.” Growing up, the Owczarzak family spent summer days outdoors, with her father at the pottery wheel and ‘70s rock music playing. Meanwhile, the young singer would be running around the yard singing. “Our house is like a hippie house without the drugs and alcohol,” Megan laughed.
Carmen Siew, also a singer and pianist, has been in Owczarzak’s life for years, babysitting her younger sister, teaching her piano in high school and gaining even closer friendship in college.
Siew said that it felt amazing to see someone like her friend, who didn’t take a “traditional path to becoming a musician” pursue her dream simply by taking a leap of faith. “It feels even more meaningful to see,” she said. “Seeing her be successful, it’s really inspiring as well.”
The pair has also collaborated on their style of acoustic and stripped back music in addition to other creative projects. However, Siew said they would like to move in the direction of more heavily produced music like songs influenced by Charli XCX and Owczarzak’s biggest influence Lady Gaga.
As music heavily ties the two girls together, Siew said her favorite memories with Owczarzak are when they’re just hanging out and singing together. It’ll be really late, and the musical pair will be singing musical theater covers accompanied by the fine music of YouTube karaoke.
In a common theme, the artist’s mom carries precious memories with her daughter’s nightly show tunes. Megan said she wishes she could bottle the moments she shared with her when they would drive down the highway back to Indiana from Chicago after a studio session late at night. “Just talking a million miles a minute, sharing things she had recorded on her phone, singing at the top of her lungs,” she said. “Oh, I could just grab and hold [those memories] for the rest of my life.”
Afterall, Owczarzak’s music is all about capturing her feelings, fleeting moments and unforgettable memories.
“It’s a continual act of rediscovering who I am, how creative I can get and see how it manifests in a different way,” she said. “It proves that we’re all so deeply multifaceted, and it’s interesting to see music bringing those different parts out.”
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