Virginia Plane is Atlanta singer-songwriter Mary O. Harrison, usually accompanied by McGregor Button, Tracy Clark and Govind Dixit. Virginia Plane plays folk pop music marked by the sweet clarity of Mary O.’s vocals.

Mary O. began writing music for the former Atlanta band Charm School in 1999 and released a solo album, Factory of Days, in 2008. Since then various musicians have played in her backing band, the Tiny Tears. In the summer of 2010, Mary O., Tracy, McGregor and Govind recorded the Virginia Plane EP with Ben Price (Studilaroche, Atlanta). “It was clearly a band project, not a solo one, by that point, and we wanted a name that could represent all of us but that I could also use for solo shows,” says Mary O. The EP was mixed and mastered by Jason NeSmith (Bel Air Studio, Casper and the Cookies) and will be released in June 2011 by Two Sheds Music.

McGregor, Tracy and Mary O. switch instruments a good deal, which allows for unexpected things to happen – like Tracy’s incorporation of a typewriter into the song “Old Fashioned Girl” and McGregor’s distinctive piano playing on “Idiot Soup.” McGregor Button (also of Russian Spy Camera) plays bass, piano and guitar. Tracy Clark (also of the Preakness, the Blue Hour, etc.) sings backup and plays keyboards, bass, melodica and guitar, while Mary O. sings lead and plays guitar, piano and flute. Govind Dixit, who also played in Charm School, holds down the drumming duties.

The name Virginia Plane is a quasi-Roxy Music reference, putting an aerodynamic twist on the iconic glam rock hit “Virginia Plain.” (The song title actually came from one of Brian Ferry’s paintings.) “I love Roxy Music – although it would be a stretch to hear it in my writing. A lot of music energizes and inspires me without the connection being obvious,” says Mary O. More direct influences include Carol King, the Kinks, Guadalcanal Diary and, of course, the Beatles.

A Virginia Plane set often draws in other musicians as well, something Mary O. did during recent shows in Ireland and plans to do on her upcoming solo tour in August 2011.