Luke Pellegrini
30/8/21
Tracey Barnett is a name you may have heard before. She’s been performing as a solo artist for almost a decade and her talents have not gone unnoticed, which is why she is August’s Artist of the Month.
Starting her solo music journey in late 2008 busking at the Blues for Bridgetown festival, Tracey was discovered by a ‘more established’ artist who asked her if she would like tour with him saying “you’re amazing, would you consider opening for a few of my shows throughout the southwest?”. To which Tracey agreed to and played her first ever gig outside of her hometown. Although nervous at first, Tracey did not back away from the opportunity “I did the performance and it was just so unreal and hard for me to believe that people were connecting with my music and enjoying it and thought that I had something special. Yeah it was just really unbelievable”. From there Tracey knew this is what she wanted to do with her life and in 2012 she pursued music full time “I feel very very lucky and I think I’m still in that state of mind half of the time like ‘how’s it possible that I get to do this, this is really really cool” she said.
If you’ve ever heard any of Tracy’s songs or songs that she’s covered, you would be able to tell straight away she’s a true blue, Blues and Roots artist. Taking inspiration from a couple of artists, her biggest inspiration is none other than the king of Blues and roots himself, John Butler, saying “He is the reason why I picked up a guitar in the first place”. As well as John, Tracey also takes inspiration from Roots Rock/Blues Rock/Psychedelic Folk duo Lark and Poe “especially the latest album in particular” she said.
Although she does take inspiration from certain artists, Tracey does not listen to other music while in her writing phase, saying “I’m actually quite cautious not to listen to other peoples music as silly as that probably sounds to people, when I’m in the writing phase and can tell I’m in the creative writing phase then I’m very conscious not to listen to too much outside music, just so I have the best chance of keeping it pure and uninfluenced by others. If that makes sense?”. Which makes sense as to why Tracy’s songs have a uniqueness and originality to them, especially her latest single ‘Freedom’, a song she has been working on for quite a number of years. Tracey divulged on the meaning behind the song, saying “…I love people to actually take whatever they like from my songs as well but for me, very much a therapy song, I was very much stuck in the ways of being a people pleaser, trying to make everyone else happy, trying to live my life the way I thought they wanted me to, just being very conscious of everyone else but myself and so I kind of wrote myself a song to say it’s ‘okay and it’s definitely not selfish to actually ask yourself what you want out of life? What does that mean for you? And go and do it, it’s okay’ and I started giving myself permission and finally set myself free.”
But where can you find Tracey at? Apart from following her social media, you can also see Tracey live as she embarks on a six week promotional tour booked for the Album ‘Eyes Forward’ that comes out on September 10th. Following that Tracey will be touring from Broome all the way down the west coast to Esperance. “I hoped for a national tour for this album but it’s just not the time, so WA is a bloody big state and I will just focus my efforts here and I’m stoked to be touring again, oh my god!” she said.
Overall if you’re a fan of true-blue Blues and Roots, like music you can jam out to at home or at work, or you’re in the mood to listen to something original and unique, then Tracey Barnett is the artist for you!
Check the Social Media handles below to keep up to date with all of Tracey's music and touring information
Social Media:
-Facebook: Tracey Barnett Music
- Instagram: @traceybarnettmusic
- Spotify: Tracey Barnett