When Senior Tori McClure was eleven years old, she took her first guitar lesson.

“My mom just kind of stuck me in a guitar class as something to keep me busy- and once I picked it up, I never put it down,” she said.

Three years later, on her 14th birthday, she had her first gig at Main Street Crossing.

“Looking back, I was so, so, so nervous,” she said, recalling her uncle going up to the general manager, Matt Davis, who was playing that night, mentioning his niece knew how to play the guitar.

She played a few songs that night at Main Street Crossing, but it was only the beginning of the music career ahead of her.

“Today, I play at Main Street regularly,” she said, in a monthly “Young Artist” showcase the venue hosts.

“Naming it ‘Courage’ just made sense, because I finally say everything I felt,” she said.

Four years after her first performance, she found herself performing at Main Street Crossing at her first album release show.Tori’s album, “Courage”, was released on April 14th, the day of the show.

Tori was first inspired to start on her own album when she won the school’s Talent Show with her original song “Try This Out” she co-wrote with the same manager who, four years ago, met her on her 14th birthday to sing at her first gig.

“We realized pretty quick that we had really great writing chemistry and didn’t stop,” she said.

The majority of the songs, she says, are about “relationships she’s been in- from wanting just a simple ‘fling’ of a relationship, to the heartbreak of a guy that moves away.

Not wanting to sound “too Taylor Swift-y”, Tori explains that “not all of the album is about boys,” she said. “You have listen closely and read between the lines on some of the songs.”

She explains that one of her songs in the album, titled “Talk, Talk, Talk” was written for “all the people that have ever liked someone in a band, because, if you ever meet or talk to them, the majority of the time, they have a tendency to flirt.”

But the song reveals the theme of the journey toward maturity, confessing her inner thoughts.

“I feel like a lot of people can connect with someone that they have a bit of a flirtation-ship with, but it’s never turned into anything more,” she said, “so you’re kind of left wondering, ‘Is this going anywhere?”

But Tori believes that it’s not just the lyrics and the voice that have helped build her success so far, but her supportive friends.

“Throughout this entire process, they’ve not only been there to motivate me and encourage me musically, but also be there for me as friends,” she said.

And the night of her show wasn’t the exception, where she had the chance to play all of her album’s songs in front of her friends who had been with her since day one.

“She’s been my best friend since before the guitar was in her hand, and when she picked it up I watched it click,” said senior Savannah Lee. “I love Tori’s music-because it is so her. Those words are words that came up in our conversations or ones she called me about because she was excited that they flowed so well.”

A career in the music industry didn’t seem too far away a month prior to her album release, when she had been competing in Houston Rodeo’s “Rodeo Rockstar” competition.She competed in the youth division for ages 16-21.

At first, she had to send in an audition video where people voted for the best online, in which she sang an original song, not included in her album.

The top 10 most voted-for videos from each age division moved on to the next round. Tori was one of the ten from her age group, going on to perform at the live competition on the Kids Country stage at the rodeo.

Tori made it all the way to the preliminary round, where she chose to sing an original song on her album – “Kiss Me Quick”. When the judges critiqued her, they admired how beat up her guitar was, telling her that it showed she had been practicing a lot.

“Which I do,” she said, “but I also just have a tendency to run into things whenever I have my guitar in my hands”.

The judges also noted that she had a “universal” voice.

Before she knew it, though, the competition was over, and the winners were being placed.

“When they got to first place of the Youth Division,” she said, “they said my name.

“It was a total surprise, because everyone in my division was so talented and had gorgeous, big voices, and here I am- with my not-so-big voice with a huge check in my hand for five-hundred dollars and a Houston Rodeo belt buckle.”

Tori will be returning to the rodeo next year to be in the Houston Rodeo parade.

But as she anticipates next year’s possibilities, she is reminded of the long road ahead of her.

Tori plans to go to Texas A&M to major in General Studies while she continues to pursue her musical interests.
“There’s so much to see and do- and to get to play music, travel, and tour everywhere would be a dream,” she said.
But even as her life changes seasons, she will always remember her roots.
“I’ll always be a Texas girl at heart,” she said.
Hear a song from Tori’s new album! Log onto the newspaper’s website at THSCougarClaw.com to listen, and catch songs by other THS singers as well.