As a child she moved to Venice, Italy, then relocated to Gleniffer Braes, on the boundary of Barrhead in East Renfrewshire, Scotland, where she attended the Cross Arthurlie Primary School.

[1] She enrolled in Barrhead High School where she won the History Prize and played clarinet, and tenor saxophone in the National Youth Jazz Orchestra of Scotland.

[2] In 2010, McGourty signed the Greenlandic singer-songwriter Simon Lynge,[15] whose debut album, The Future, reached the top of the Amazon UK Rock Charts on the week of its release.

[19][20] The films covered the first recordings of roots music in the United States during the 1920s and their cultural, social and technological impact on North America and the world.

[19][21][26] The film starred Steve Martin, Nas, Elton John, Alabama Shakes, Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard, Jack White, Taj Mahal, Ana Gabriel, Pokey LaFarge, Rhiannon Giddens and Beck.

[28] McGourty is a member of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, the Writers Guild of America West, the Sundance Institute, and the International Documentary Association.

[33] McGourty was nominated by the British Academy Film Awards as a Breakthrough Talent for screenwriting, producing and music supervising The American Epic Sessions.