Serena Robb

Serena Robb was born at Milton Keynes hospital on October 1994. She grew up on Fishermead; she has fond memories of her schools, Penwith and Meadfurlong, which were very diverse but well integrated. She says Fishermead people always helped each other, no matter their race or religion. Because Serena’s mum worked part time they spent a lot of time together, and her mum would take them for ‘adventures’ around the estate, pretending they were lost in order to tire out the children.

Serena attended St Paul’s Catholic school. She discovered her love of the performing arts there; she remembers school trips to the theatre and loved both dance and drama. Although she had previously sung in her church choir, it was when she moved on to college that she really discovered her singing ability; she was persuaded to switch from performing arts to the brand-new music course, and then went on to study music at BIMM Music Institute in Brighton. Her initial plan was to write songs and sing backing vocals but after experimenting at open mics and other events, she found her sound and direction, releasing her first EP whilst still at university.

She moved back to Milton Keynes, where she now devotes a lot of energy to creating a more joined-up music scene, aiming to create a central hub and community for musicians. After organising some events at MK Gallery, she has found a passion for working with local artists and is very excited about future possibilities. Nevertheless, she says it is still difficult to make a name for yourself and get bookings as a vocalist or musician in Milton Keynes; she wishes local venues would do more to support local artists, programming a wider range of genres.

Serena works in a call centre during the day; in addition to her musical activities she is also a Director of Word Play magazine, championing undiscovered acts. She currently lives in Springfield and loves walking by the canal, which she really learnt to appreciate during lockdown.