Tell me about yourself?
I’m an 18 year old musician and music student from Stoke on Trent and I started learning the guitar at age 5. I have recently passed my driving test and the current love of my life (after my guitar collection) is my red Mini which has a union jack on the roof.
What Instrument(s) do you play, if any? And how long have you been playing your respective instruments(s)?
My main instrument is acoustic guitar, which I started learning at age 5. In my recorded music I have also played some electric guitar, bass, keyboards, mandolin. I can also play the ukulele and used to be in a youth orchestra where I played the clarinet and recorder.
Who are your biggest influences?
I’m a big Taylor Swift fan, particularly her earlier work but it was listening to Ward Thomas, Catherine McGrath which made me believe that was the genre I wanted to be part of.
What song(s) do you remember most from your childhood?
I have always had Dancing in the Moonlight by Toploader on my phone (or iPod) but also grew up listening to Bon Jovi as it was often played in my parents’ cars, in fact I went to see a Bon Jovi concert on my 4th birthday !
Do you perform covers and if so what’s your go to?
Most gigs I tend to play my own songs but I do throw in a few covers depending on the set length , Taylor Swift’s Love Story is a favourite of mine.
What genre of music do you consider your work to be?
Singer/songwriter, (British) country/pop, Americana and folk.
Do you have a process for writing your songs?
I tend to come up with a chord progression first, then the lyrics and melody usually come together, however the melody comes more naturally to me than the lyrics, they often need the most work or re-working.
Have you released any music yet, and if so how has it been received?
I have self released 2 EPs so far. My most recent EP, called “My Imagination” was released in Dec 2018 and was awarded 5 stars by Maverick Music Magazine.
Are you planning any music releases for the near future?
Yes, I am writing new music right now. I have four songs that are complete and will be back in the studio towards the end of summer to start recording them. I’m not sure yet if I’ll release my next music as singles, a 4 – 5 track EP or a longer EP/album right now.
If you have released music, where can fans to be find it?
Readers can head over to my website (https://www.emilylockett.co.uk) to listen to all my work and buy a physical CD, but most is also available on music platforms such as iTunes, Apple Music and Spotify etc.
My latest EP “My Imagination” can be found here:
https://open.spotify.com/artist/5jTBTukmcJaAfea5tj1I8x?si=8_gmySdhSCmfa8J2S0dunA
https://music.apple.com/gb/album/my-imagination/1444511180
All the CD’s from my first EP “Reflections of Me” are now sold but some of the music can still be heard via my website and a few tracks from this still appear on compilation albums online.
Do you have social media, if so please provide links?
My main links are below:
https://www.facebook.com/EmilyLockettMusic/
https://www.instagram.com/emilylockettmusic/
https://twitter.com/EmilyLockett4
Where have you performed? What are your favourite and least favourite venues?
I have played at quite a range of venues so far, from pubs, small live music venues, festivals, on a barge in Belfast (!) and the Victoria Hall (in Stoke on Trent) which has excellent acoustics. I have a few church gigs lined up later this year as well that I hope will be special. So far my favourite festivals that I’ve played at were 110 Above and Black Deer Festival but I have high hopes for the new British Country Music Festival that I’m playing at this September. As regards smaller venues I’ve played at quite a few and those that stand out as a performer are those where the audience is there purely to listen to and appreciate the music, nowadays I generally avoid anything where I’d end up being background music if possible.
Do you have any gigs in the near future, and if so where and when?
My next performance is at Latitude Festival on 20 July on The Inbetweeners Stage, but later in the year I have a number of shows that I’m excited to be a part of, such as:
10/08/2019 – Supporting Stuart Landon & Angels with Dirty Faces (Manchester)
13/08/0219 – Supporting Jessica Lynn (Dronfield)
13/09/2019 – The British Country Music Festival (Blackpool)
28/09/2019 – Supporting Blair Dunlop (Robin Hoods Bay)
01/10/2019 & 03/10/2019 – Supporting Jess & The Bandits (Manchester & Nottingham)
I am particularly looking forward to playing at The British Country Music Festival later this year as two of the headliners are Ward Thomas and Catherine McGrath, so I’ll be hanging out all weekend to catch their sets and hope to bump into them backstage, as well as soaking up the atmosphere all weekend.
For a full list of all my upcoming gigs see – https://www.emilylockett.co.uk/gigs
How do you balance your music with other obligations?
I’ve been fortunate for the last two years that my college course only required a few days per week so I’ve had time to fit both in. I am due to start a songwriting degree at BIMM in Manchester from October so we’ll have to see if that will affect my ability to take on quite so many gigs.
I hope to take on a manager at some point in the near future, to help with some of the day to day tasks such as finding quality performance opportunities.
Following on from that question, what has been your biggest challenge as a performer and have you been able to overcome that challenge? If so then how?
It’s hard to make a living from music as a young independent artist that doesn’t want to do pub covers gigs. My music sales don’t cover the costs of the recording process and many venues generally don’t pay anything near Musician Union rates, let alone cover travel costs or accommodation. I can’t say I’ve successfully overcome this right now, it’s definitely a “work in progress”.
What advice do you have for beginners?
Take every opportunity to perform in front of live audiences and don’t give up!
And let’s end with something a little different…Which famous person, living or dead, would you have dinner with and why?
Taylor Swift, I really admire her and love her early work. Even if her more recent work isn’t my favourite I admire how she has managed to adapt to different ages and genres of music. I also think her songs are very cleverly written. Yeah I’m sure I could learn a lot from her over a pizza!
First Published on: https://offtherecordblog.org/
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