TALENTED Swan Hill musician Sophie Kelly is preparing herself for her biggest performance to date, as she is set to open the all-ages concert tonight featuring The Chats and Teenage Joans.
The Swan Hill College student has had a long history involved with community events, being a part of the Swan Hill Theatre Group since 2012 where she was recently crowned their student award winner for 2021.
“The award was a bit of a surprise but it is really nice to be appreciated,” Miss Kelly said.
Her debut in performing was in part due to her father Andrew Kelly being the scriptwriter for the 2012 play, however she got influence from other members of her family with both of her older sisters having plenty of experience playing various instruments.
“Both Emma and Bonnie have been involved in music for a long time and Emma can play a lot of instruments, so I have had a lot of guidance over the years,” she said.
Recently she performed at the Summerwave Music Festival, held in Kerang at the end of last year, where she supported well-known Australian artist Taylor Henderson.
Will Burns, from Youth Inc, approached Miss Kelly about performing at the concert, with the young musician excited to perform in front of her biggest crowd despite having a few nerves in the days leading up to the show.
“I am a little bit nervous, but I am excited more than anything,” she said.
“I haven’t been able to do a show in a while, so I am definitely looking forward to it.”
Like all musicians, the past couple of years had been hard on Miss Kelly in terms of performing, however she hoped to have a big year in 2022 and hopeful for more opportunities in the coming months.
She has a performance at a wedding in the next few months, she has also been approached about a couple of other shows that were happening in the near future, with the young musician needing to be creative to get her name out there over the past few years.
Miss Kelly has been posting videos on some of her social media accounts with her TikTok and Instagram accounts having more than 1000 followers, with the platforms a chance for her to post videos of her performing.
“I have been posting videos online just to get some of my stuff out there,” she said.
Taking inspiration from artists such as Taylor Swift, Harry Styles and Olivia Rodrigo, she would classify herself as a singer/songwriter and will be performing a mix of both originals and covers when she hits the stage at 5.45pm tonight.
Miss Kelly hoped to pursue a career in music, with contests such as Triple J Unearthed’s Unearthed High contest an opportunity for her to kick start her career, with Teenage Joans a past winner of the contest in 2020.
“Music is the dream that’s for sure and I will give it a crack and see how I go,” she said.
