Arna Georgia, the Sydney-born country singer, will be showcasing at the 2018 Australian Music Week (AMW) next month.
AMW is a grassroots event that aims to throw a spotlight on emerging talent and build industry connections. Arna has previously performed at a variety of festivals ranging from Tamworth Country Music Festival to Nashville's Americanafest.
She is currently performing on 'The Tour With No Name' tour alongside Brisbane singer Hayley Marsten.
You're showcasing at the AMW. That's nothing to frown at.
I’m so excited to be showcasing at Australian Music Week. It’s something I’ve always wanted to be a part of and such a great week that gets everyone together celebrating live and original music, and I’m so incredibly proud that it’s just down the road from where I grew up. It’s going to be an awesome week.
Do you get excited about performing or are you leaning more towards nervousness?
I definitely get something, a mixture of it all I think. Feeling nervous and getting butterflies I think is the best feeling before you get onstage. It’s adrenaline and excitement, and if I’m not nervous then I feel super weird.
Currently, you're performing with Brisbane musician Hayley Marsten throughout Australia on the 'Tour With No Name' tour. What inspired the tour?
It’s been so much fun. We both met at the CMAA Academy of Country Music in Tamworth in 2016 and we both loved Taylor Swift, and we were both a little crazy, so we became friends pretty instantly.
We [each] released EPs in the middle of last year and thought it would be a really fun thing to do shows together. So we began doing a few house concerts, a few shows last year in Sydney, southern NSW and Queensland, and then thought 'let's just go hard on this one, book some shows over a few months and have some fun', so that’s what we did.
It’s been a great learning experience, but so so much fun.
You're playing the broke and single card quite a bit, and why not? It's a hundred per cent universally relatable. I personally wouldn't mind a stubbie for myself. But have you thought about what happens when you're not so broke and single?
Hahaha! Yes, 'Broke And Single' has definitely become one of my theme songs. I think I’ll have to keep my boyfriend secret and keep playing the Broke and Single card haha or maybe I’ll just have to write a song called 'Broke And Taken'… I guess we will cross that bridge when we get to it. For now, I’ll keep it as a pick-up line.
What's the best location you've played and why?
This is so hard. I’ve played some absolutely amazing venues. One that stands out in Australia is the Quarterdeck in Narooma (South Coast NSW).
The owner there has created such an amazing venue that guarantees great live music and because of that, people come out, they have dinner and they listen and that is the best thing you could ask for in this industry.
There was also an amazing place in Louisiana called the Red Dragon Listening Lounge, and again the owner just lives and breathes live music so the audience was great, there were different kinds of couches all over the room and cool signs and guitars; the vibe was just amazing.
You've played numerous live shows at this point in your career, even some in Nashville in the States. Do you feel more accomplished because of these achievements?
Of course, playing live is what it’s all about and if I can share my music one state, venue or town at a time then I definitely feel a sense of accomplishment.
Do you feel a level of establishment and stability with regards to your musical career?
I do. The country music industry here in Australia are so accommodating to up and coming artists and I’ve always felt so well supported. Of course it’s hard and I still have a week-day job to pay rent, but I feel somewhat stable and definitely feel confident for the future.
Was Nashville, or an event like it, the point where you thought to yourself, 'yeah, I think I've made it'?
I don’t think I’ve ever thought I’ve made it, but there are many points where I look around and know I am so grateful for where I am in my career and the places I’ve been.
'Midnight Carousel' was released in 2017 and reached #2 on the iTunes Country chart, and #19 across all genres. That's a very big deal for a debut EP. How did that make you feel?
I was so excited. I woke up so early that day just to check iTunes. It’s honestly surreal to think that people are actually buying a bunch of songs that you wrote in your bedroom. It’s amazing.
What was your reaction at the time? You must be very proud of yourself.
I was very proud and grateful and just in awe. It was definitely a dream of mine and to have it happen was so much fun.
Bill Chambers and Catherine Britt seem to have been pretty instrumental in helping to establish your name. How did you meet those two?
I met Catherine Britt at the Academy of Country Music in 2016 and Bill Chambers at a house concert in Tumut. Both Catherine and Bill have influenced me so much in the way I write and the music I listen to.
Catherine does an amazing talk at the CMAA Academy on the history of country music and it got me so interested in where the music comes from and the artists responsible for shaping what it is today. Her music is so influential to me.
Bill has been such a massive part of my career. We spent the end of 2017 on tour together here and in the US, and that was such an amazing experience, playing in his band and getting to write with him; so inspirational and so much fun.
You're a country singer from Sydney – and not country, rural Sydney but CBD Sydney. It's kind of hard to imagine. Where do you think that came from?
Haha. Well, I’m going to be completely honest here. I used to listen to Taylor Swift and Hannah Montana, so that’s essentially what got me in to listening to country music.
That’s what got me into playing guitar and watching CMC, and from then I fell in love with the old-school traditional stuff like Hank Williams, The Carter Family and Johnny Cash.
I get the impression that your influences are classics like Johnny Cash and Hank Williams. Am I right?
Definitely. I absolutely love the traditional country music and the honky-tonk kind of vibe. I also love people like Ashley McBryde and Holly Williams who have taken the traditional songwriting and musicality and added a contemporary twist. I think music just needs to be truthful and you, and that’s all that matters.
You're hoping to record your first full album next March. How do you want that album to be different to 'Midnight Carousel'?
Yes, I’m regarding in March next year with Nash Chambers in Nashville and I just want to write about exactly what’s happening in my life write now. I want to have some fun and tell some stories, and just create some awesome music.
Do you think the places you wrote the tracks may have affected how they have turned out?
I think it’s been great being able to be influenced by so many different people from different towns and states and countries.
Having different influences really gets the creativity flowing; even if you don’t finish a song or use a song, it’s still inspiring and it still influences the writing, so I think the essence is the same for all the songs.
But I do think that being influenced by so many different writers in different places has definitely had an effect on the writing.
