Indie singer-songwriter Mason Ashley has been playing guitar and writing songs since she was 9 years old, and she began performing at age 12.

“Since I started [performing], I knew that this is what I wanted to do,” Ashley said.

Ashley—a Magnolia native—graduated from high school in 2016 and is now attending cosmetology school, working in a hair salon and juggling her music career.

“It’s hard [to balance everything],” she said. “I’ll make some time especially for music in the evenings. I’ll stay up late, and that’s pretty much when I’m inspired anyway.”

Although Ashley has been taking a small break from the spotlight, she has performed her solo act live at Dosey Doe Big Barn in The Woodlands and Main Street Crossing in Tomball.

“I honestly forget that people are there when I’m performing,” Ashley said. “It’s a very personal thing for me. I have a lot of fun with it, but there are times that I will just close my eyes and get so into a song, or I’ll look out and see people singing along with me, and that’s the coolest feeling.”

Ashley has been focusing on writing and gearing up for her second EP release, “Strangers,” in August. She hopes to get a small tour lined up this summer, she said.

“All the songs that I’ve released and I am releasing are written only by me,” Ashley said. “I have written with people before, but I have a really exclusive way of writing, I guess—I like it to be a private thing. Normally, I write by myself, but I’m planning on collaborating more with people soon.”

Ashley’s music is inspired by an eclectic group of artists, such as Bob Dylan, The 1975, Ingrid Michaelson and Taylor Swift, she said.

“I write a lot about relationships and other people,” Ashley said. “I use my writing as my diary and almost like therapy. That’s how [my writing] started—it was just me wanting to get my emotions out, and that was the best way to do it.”

Since she began writing and performing at such a young age, Ashley has been able to witness important stages in her life through the transformation of her musical career.

“Even though I’ve come a long way, and I look back and am embarrassed of stuff I’ve written or performed before, it doesn’t mean that I wasn’t talented back then,” Ashley said. “I feel like it can only get better from here.”