Australian singer-songwriter MAY-A, the 24-year-old talent from Sydney, recently delivered a striking reinterpretation of Stevie Nicks' classic 1981 track, “Edge of Seventeen.” Her cover for triple j’s Like a Version, aired on Friday, March 20, presented a grunge-inflected, guitar-driven reworking that distinctly departed from the original’s iconic riff. Instead of replicating the familiar, MAY-A and her band rebuilt the song from the ground up, allowing her unique artistic vision to shine.

The performance began with a more restrained, vocally-led arrangement, gradually expanding into a heavier, distortion-led second half featuring prominent guitar and bass solos. This dynamic approach was crafted to highlight MAY-A's voice, which skillfully balanced moments of tenderness with a raw, rock-edged delivery throughout the track. Guitarist and collaborator Chloe Dadd played a crucial role in shaping this distinctive arrangement, which evolved through extensive experimentation during rehearsals. MAY-A noted, “When we started playing around with the idea of this song, we just played it in so many different ways. And my guitarist Chloe, she sort of built out the tracks.”

The choice to cover a Stevie Nicks song was a deliberate one for MAY-A. She expressed a deep admiration for Nicks' ability to articulate themes of grief and loss, describing it as “unique and inspiring.” MAY-A stated, “I haven’t seen someone write about grief and loss in such a powerful and strong way.” This performance was notably teased by the triple j team earlier in the week through an Instagram Stories post featuring a scene from the film *School of Rock*.

In addition to the cover, MAY-A also performed “Last Man on Earth” from her debut album, *Goodbye (If You Call That Gone)*, which was released on February 20. In a recent interview with The Music, Maya Cumming (her birth name) discussed her teenage journey into rock music. She cited formative influences such as Sonic Youth, Bikini Kill, Paramore, Hole, and Evanescence. Reflecting on her transition from a