With a name like Ruby Tuesday Magee, the 17-year-old Sehome High School student was bound to have some musical inclinations.

She'll sing and play her ukulele at 7 p.m. Friday, Dec. 21, at the monthly Bellingham Unitarian Fellowship Coffeehouse, open to the public; and from 11 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 23, at the Allied Arts Holiday Festival of the Arts.

Question: How did you get started playing music?

Answer: I started playing music when I was in 10th grade. The ukulele was the first instrument that I ever tried to play, and once I got the hang of it I loved it. Ever since I was little, singing was the one thing that I loved to do most. I love playing the ukulele and singing because it's such a fun little instrument and it suits my voice well.

Q: Do you play other instruments?

A: I want to learn guitar because it has a different sound and it can go along a lot better with the songs I like to sing.

Q: What music do you like?

A: My favorite song to play on the ukulele is probably the song "Creep" by Radiohead. I love playing and singing with other musicians and people. I have jammed a couple times with Bellingham's Chad Peterson, who also plays ukulele and is an amazing musician.

I love singing with family friends of ours, Bert and Charlie Monroe, who own many instruments and have taught me a lot about music. My favorite person to sing and play with is one of my best friends, Ben Holmgren, who plays the guitar.

Q: Where have you performed?

A: I have played at BUF (my church) events; I have sung and played at numerous parties, including at Terra Organica's 15th anniversary party. I also play at the Bellingham Farmers Market.

Q: Who are some of your mentors, your inspirations, your role models?

A: My biggest mentor in my life is a woman named Ro Donelson. I met her at BUF through a program called COA (Coming of Age) that my church coordinates. It's a program to bring seventh- and eighth-graders to mentors in our church; the mentors hang out and kind of guide the kids in the program. We have had a great relationship since then.

One of my biggest inspirations in life is probably people that I see and meet everyday. I don't really have one inspirational person that I look up to because everyday I see people, or hear of people, that inspire me. I think that everyone I know in my life inspires me in their own way.

Q: Favorite band?

A: My favorite band of all time is Nirvana. The words in their songs and the way it sounds makes me feel incredible when I listen to it. Some of my other favorite bands include The White Stripes, Sublime, Pink Floyd and The Red Hot Chili Peppers. I listen to a lot of alternative rock/grunge music (something that you wouldn't think fits my personality when you first meet me, but it really does).

Q: What else is fun for you besides music?

A: I really like theater. I took drama for two years at Sehome High School and although I was not in any plays (not enough time), I did participate in skits and showcases. It was super fun. I am a very theatrical, overdramatic person and so I loved being able to get that out on stage.

I also like yoga and I love sitting down and talking to people. I'm the type of person who will ask a bunch of questions and want to get to know people as much as possible.

Q: What are your dreams beyond Bellingham?

A: I'm not completely sure what I want to be yet, but I want to do something in either music, teaching or psychology, which means I probably want to be a music therapist. I love working with kids and I love the idea that music can help the brain in so many different ways, so I think it would be cool to put that idea into action.

My dream would be to go to college and have a career in whatever I choose, but still do something big in music. I'm working right now on writing songs to put out an album and hopefully before I head off to college that can happen for me. I just want to have a life that's happy for me, no matter what I'm doing.

Reach MARGARET BIKMAN at margaret.bikman@bellinghamherald.com or 715-2273.