Australian singer-songwriter MAY-A has put her own stamp on a classic.
The 24-year-old Sydney talent covered Stevie Nicks‘ 1981 track “Edge of Seventeen” for triple j’s Like a Version on Friday (March 20), delivering a grunge-inflected, guitar-driven reworking that stripped away the original’s iconic riff and rebuilt the song from the ground up.
Taking to the stage with her live band, MAY-A opened with a restrained, vocally-led arrangement before the track expanded into something heavier — a distortion-led second half complete with both guitar and bass solos.
The approach made room for her own voice to take center stage, balancing tenderness with a raspy, rock-edged delivery throughout. Guitarist and collaborator Chloe Dadd was central to shaping the arrangement, which came together through extended experimentation in rehearsals.
“When we started playing around with the idea of this song, we just played it in so many different ways,” MAY-A said. “And my guitarist Chloe, she sort of built out the tracks.”
The song choice was a deliberate one. MAY-A said she wanted to cover something connected to Nicks specifically because of the way the Fleetwood Mac co-founder writes about loss.
“I haven’t seen someone write about grief and loss in such a powerful and strong way,” she said, describing the quality as “unique and inspiring.” The triple j team had teased the cover earlier in the week by sharing a School of Rock scene on Instagram Stories.
The Like a Version appearance came alongside a performance of “Last Man on Earth” from MAY-A’s debut album Goodbye (If You Call That Gone), released February 20.
In a recent interview with The Music, the artist — born Maya Cumming — spoke about her journey into rock music as a teenager, citing Sonic Youth, Bikini Kill, Paramore, Hole and Evanescence as formative influences.
“I was never from this scene — I was always a Taylor Swift pop girl — so when I got into rock in my teens, I felt like a fraud,” she said. “These women made me feel seen, and made me realise I didn’t need to fit into all of these moulds I’d made for myself. I had to carve my own space.”
Of the album itself, MAY-A said she was deliberately resistant to commercial instincts. “This album is a slow burn; you have to sit with it. I deliberately didn’t make it hi-fi, or really catchy and full of hooks. This was as raw as I could make it.”
MAY-A’s Goodbye (If You Call That Gone) tour kicks off April 2 at The Princess Theatre in Brisbane, with further dates in Sydney, Melbourne, Fremantle and Adelaide. The Like a Version appearance was part of triple j’s expanded March slate, which doubled its weekly output for the first time to include both Friday and Tuesday sessions throughout the month.
