Sublime Stanley to play hometown gig

Rowan Anderson

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Greta Stanley draws on sentiment and story telling in her songs. IMAGE: Supplied

“Indecisive pop.”

27-year-old homegrown talent Greta Stanley is blunt in her assessment of her musical style - but she is anything but a basic pop artist.

A nightingale mixed with Marcus Mumford her indie-folk tones will make you a fan and she spoke with Newsport ahead of her Cairns show.

With no family members in the industry, it was more of a hobby of her fathers that drew her towards the world of music and lyrics.

“Since I was little, I used to like to dance and sing around the house. My dad used to always play guitar – not very well but there was always one in the house,” she said.

“When I was thirteen, he saw that I had an interest in music and he bought me my first guitar and I just taught myself from Youtube and it kinda just went from there.”

The rising star will admit she never really took it seriously as a potential career until she turned eighteen.

“I started writing music at sixteen and I didn’t really know what I wanted to do after school.

“I did feel a little bit lost.”

Relocating to Cairns and attending TAFE there studying Music lighting the fuse that would kick start her career.

“I built the confidence through that course to start playing live and busking in Cairns.

“I think it was The Wool Shed who were the first to pick me up and started paying me to perform.”

Even with her experience, millions of streams to her name, numerous festival appearances and a list of support slots that reads like a who's who of Australian indie pop (Amy Shark, Tash Sultana, Eves Karydas), Stanley says that sometimes she still has to remind herself that this is her life.

“Sometimes I still get a little bit of imposter syndrome, like am I actually good at this,” she laughed.

“Once I went to TAFE and I met people who were in the same kind of music as me it allowed me to build a great network of people that I did not previously have.”

Going on to release her debut album Full Grown which would be followed by two acclaimed EPs Stanley has spent the last two years creating her anticipated sophomore record, Real Love in Real Life.

She calls upon artists such as Macey Gray, Anastacia, Lisa Mitchell and Missy Higgins as her influences but says that her music is predominantly influenced by her surroundings – which is clear to hear in her lyrics.

“I write a lot of heart on my sleeves songs that are quite vulnerable.”

Her distinctive soundtrack plays like a love letter to north Queensland made up of original heartfelt songs inspired by her life and memories of home.

“I never really set out to write that way but I think its just what feels the most natural for me.

“The kind of music that has really influenced me or made me feel better at times is honest storytelling lyrics that can make you feel less isolated.

“I write a lot about mental health, anxiety, heart break and navigating the world as your growing up – which can be a bit difficult at times.”

Her talent has been recognised by national youth broadcaster triple j who have added numerous tracks to their rotation and playlists and are supporting her current tour.

She even recently performed the Foo Fighters hit track ‘Everlong’ as part of Like A Version, in a real pinch me moment for Stanley.

“It was very surreal. I still sometimes think did that really happen.”
Her current tour has played along the east coast, but Stanley is excited to get back home to play the Cairns crowd on Saturday night which will also be the final show of the tour.

Crowds at her current tour will see Stanley and her band playing new songs and a growing collection of her classics, including ‘When January Comes’, ‘Kick’, ‘Soak Into This’, ‘Red Earth Dirt’, ‘Come Undone’, and more.

Her Cairns show will see Cooktown product Yazmindi supporting at Tanks Art Centre on Saturday 6 and is presented by Double Drummer Music & Four Tone Artists, supported by triple j.


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