LEADING up to her 23rd birthday Georgie Winchester kept being plagued by a recurring dream that her life was coming to an end.
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She'd just finished a politics degree in Melbourne, but the Gresford-raised singer-songwriter felt unfulfilled. A psychologist would probably describe it as a quarter-life crisis.
"I thought if I'm gonna die at 23 what would be my regret?," Winchester says. "I thought my regret would be not playing music and playing gigs.
"I had no family or friends in music so I had no idea where to start."
Shortly after her 23rd birthday in 2019 Winchester started performing cover gigs. From there, she hasn't looked back.
Besides her solo material, Winchester fronts Newcastle pop-rock band Turpentine Babycino and is a sound engineer for the Newcastle YouTube music video series Killah Whale Duets.
Next Wednesday Winchester will release her debut album Follow The Sound before she embarks on a 24-date tour, across NSW, Victoria, Tasmania and Western Australia, starting next Thursday in Yamba.
It was only last Saturday that Turpentine Babycino wrapped up their tour to promote their second single Calamity in Coffs Harbour.
Follow The Sound is an eight-track album of indie-folk which showcases Winchester's knack for warm melodies and simple, yet emotive, story-telling.
In 2021 Winchester released the EP Golden Times, followed by a classical instrumental album Piano From Gresford, last year. However, Winchester says Follow The Sound is a better representation of her music.
At the heart of the record is Winchester's delicate vocal and the theme of following your heart, over your head, and living the life you desire.
"I feel like people are going to get a good picture of who I am and all my fun stories," she says.
Winchester wrote the title track after performing at the Into The Wild Festival at Bobin in the Mid North Coast hinterland. There she received some sage advice from a group of women.
"One lady said, 'Georgie, you've just got to follow the music, and if you do that, it'll take you where you need to go'," Winchester remembers.
"So I thought I'm going to write a song about that. It's been my motto to go with the music and see what happens. That's translated into the whole album."
Lead single Friends With The Flies was inspired by advice from her father on stressing about problems, Anything Else explores the creative dilemma of playing cover gigs and Worth It details the highs and lows of touring.
Sad People was written about having her tonsils removed 18 months ago, which left her unable to barely talk or sing for three months.
"They say it's heaps dangerous for an adult to have their tonsils out because they're quite big things at that stage," she says.
"It took me a full year to recover. My voice doesn't get tired and sore all the time. I had chronic laryngitis and every time I sang at a gig it hurt so much."
Georgie Winchester's Follow The Sound is out Wednesday, May 10.
Josh Leeson
Josh Leeson is an entertainment and features journalist, specialising in music, at the Newcastle Herald. He first joined the masthead in 2008 after stints at the Namoi Valley Independent and Port Stephens Examiner and has previously covered sport including the Asian Cup, A-League, Surfest, cricket and rugby league.
Josh Leeson is an entertainment and features journalist, specialising in music, at the Newcastle Herald. He first joined the masthead in 2008 after stints at the Namoi Valley Independent and Port Stephens Examiner and has previously covered sport including the Asian Cup, A-League, Surfest, cricket and rugby league.
