Georgie, a 23 year old singer/songwriter from Mansfield is quickly gaining repetition and respect in the music industry thanks to her distinctive old-style rock and roll sound. She is currently supporting Jake Bugg on his UK tour and I was able to ask her some questions about her experiences as a musician so far.
Georgie has been playing music for a few years now. She told me that she “picked up the guitar when I was 14 and started gigging when I was about 16. I’m 23 now so that’s 7 years!” But being a musician wasn’t always the dream. “I used to play football and I wanted to go into sport. I was really set on that, but then it changed overnight. As soon as I picked up the guitar I forgot about football and sports and became focused on music.”
Georgie told me that she has a varied list of influences. “Elvis was a big influence. That was one of the things that made me play guitar. An Elvis record made me fall in love with music. Growing up, my mum introduced me to Fleetwood Mack, Aretha Franklin and Jodi Mitchel. I’ve got quite a varied taste.” She also looked up to powerful female artists like “Janis Joplin and Stevie Nicks. Strong females definitely had the biggest influence on me.”
Recently, she has spent some time recording and performing in the USA. She said about that experience that “I think it’s easier to play over there no matter what level you’re at. In the music industry over there, you can go from playing a big sold-out gig to like a pub and no one really minds! It’s very different over here. I mean there’s similarities but there’s a lot of differences as well. But they’re two countries that are known for great music.”
Georgie said that going to America was one of the highlights of her career so far, along with “ this tour with Jake… It’s been one of my favourite tours. We did the London Palladium the other day and that was one of my favourite gigs ever. I think because I knew the history of it. I was reading about who’d played there like Aretha Franklin and The Beatles. You can feel that history on stage when you walk out. It had something special about it.”
As well as Jake Bugg, Georgie has also supported Blossoms. She said those experiences have been “amazing. They are both very different to support. These last two Jake Bugg tours I’ve done have been solo acoustic so that’s a very different kind of feeling. They’re both great and it’s good to play with those well respected artists in front of a good crowd.”
Her advice to young aspiring musicians is: “Don’t ever give up! There’s times when you’ll get knocked back. It happens more than a few times! But don’t give up because something amazing will happen and it will be worth it and you’ll think: that’s why I do this crazy thing. Keep writing songs and playing live. Keep getting experience as a musician. Make it about the music and if you’ve got that focus I think everything else will follow.”
Her ultimate goal is to “get a record out that everyone can relate to and feel something with. All the musicians I love, no matter how big or small they are, they’ve all got amazing records that I can relate to and that really speak to me. So to release that kind of album that touches people, that’s probably my biggest goal.”
Georgie will be releasing the rest of her EP this month. Also look out for her on festival line-ups this
Summer. She is certainly one to watch!