Siobhan Cotchin was named the emerging artist at the Nannup Music Festival.
Camera IconSiobhan Cotchin was named the emerging artist at the Nannup Music Festival. Credit: Supplied/Supplied

Country sound inspires city girl

Staff ReporterEastern Reporter

The Perth College Year 10 student won the Emerging Artist Award at the 2014 Nannup Music Festival and was invited to perform at the festival last weekend.

Siobhan’s prize for winning the award was 10 hours of recording time, which she used to record her first EP, Stories.

Siobhan said it was an honour and a complete surprise to win the award.

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‘The fact that I was up against so many other great artists, especially being the youngest, was also a real privilege,’ she said. ‘I certainly didn’t think I was going to win.

‘To have won 10 hours recording time was such a wonderful opportunity.’

Siobhan said her passion for country music was sparked when she was given a Taylor Swift album for her ninth birthday.

‘I just became so obsessed with that ‘twangy sound’ and the storytelling in the writing, I thought that it would be a genre worth exploring,’ she said.

‘I think for me it’s really important to know how some of my favourite artists created their sound.

‘Although I absolutely love country music, I also love many other genres of music such as folk, rock and everything in between.’

Siobhan said despite her love of performing, she still got very nervous before every performance.

‘I always get nervous, even if it’s just some casual busking but I don’t really have any methods to calm myself down beforehand,’ she said. ‘I just try and harness them and put the energy into my performance.’

Siobhan plans to study at WA Academy of Performing Arts in the future.