Whisper it quietly, but musical comedian Emer Maguire and first year Music student and singer-songwriter Daisy Johnston would be just as happy with Battenberg and crisps as they are with traybakes. And when they get together, they quickly find that’s not all they have in common – both have a deep-seated love of performing.

Not that either see it as anything like the easy road. As Emer reels off the names of people Daisy should contact to organise live radio sessions and gigs around Belfast, her big message is that if you don’t ask, you don’t get. “If you work in anything – like us – where your career heavily depends on people knowing you, then it’s more of a battle. You have to be talented, know that you’re talented and then know people who can help you as well.”

She should know. Since leaving Queen’s she has worked hard for her success in a variety of performance and presenting roles, including being hailed as an “indie Victoria Wood” – which, she says, is nice but weird, “because when I was starting out, I didn’t know who that was”. Her mixture of accessible humour and tunes are more reminiscent of Bill Bailey’s stage shows, leading to sell-out performances at iconic Belfast venues such as The MAC and the Ulster Hall.

Daisy, too, is no stranger to the microphone. She has performed at Belfast’s Oh Yeah Music Centre and has a series of recorded collaborations soon to drop online, citing Phoebe Bridgers and Sam Fender as inspirations for her singer-songwriting. “Doing any kind of recording session with Sam would be the best thing that could ever happen.”

As well as exchanging stories about mansplaining sound guys – “most are lovely, but you do get mansplained about sound quite a lot,” says Daisy – both return to the shared mantra of saying ‘yes’ often. “I mean, what’s the worst that can happen?” says Emer. “You never know the really cool stuff that could come along. I once wrote a song for Translink that went viral on TikTok.” Daisy agrees: “My mum always says, ‘What would you do if you weren’t afraid?’ I think she’s right. You have to dive in. There’s no time to be embarrassed.”

 

Each performer has a clear idea of who they are creatively, and it’s that power of self-confidence that they both talk about at length. “As women, we seem to get more confident as we get older,” muses Emer. “And I have no idea where boys get their self-confidence from. It must be their mummies telling them they are amazing and them believing it.”

Daisy says she draws her confidence from her love of musical theatre. “I’m so into musicals – and it definitely helps with my confidence. I give myself the character of Daisy Johnston when I’m singing and it informs how I perform. My class are always wondering: ‘Is Daisy going to make us cry again today?’”

And it’s not just about finding their voice – their audience has also been instrumental to both on their journey as performers. Daisy connects well with under-18s, while Emer has noticed that she is the youngest person at her shows. “It’s always women in their forties, fifties and sixties. Once an audience member actually got up during the performance and asked me what I wanted to drink. Then she went to the bar, came back and put the glass on the stage,” she says, laughing. “You only get that kind of confidence with age, I think.”

Although this is their first meeting, you sense it may not be their last. Maybe it’ll be on tour in five years – Daisy on the road with her own band or singing alongside Phoebe Bridgers; Emer the star of her own comedy tour complete with orchestra à la Tim Minchin. Anything is possible, after all, when you just say yes.