Blues singer Louise Adams says the experience and confidence she got from performing in central Victoria have been key in her musical journey.
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Adams lived in Casltemaine between 2013 and 2014 with her time in central Victoria helping her grow in experience and confidence as a solo musician.
“Between 2010 and 2011 was the first time started to play around with idea of performing,” she said.
“I was in a band called Louise and the Tornadoes in Mt Gambier. We had a handful of gigs while I was working as lawyer.
“We wanted to move somewhere close to Melbourne but was still regional. We thought we would spend couple years away from ‘normal’ lives and gig as much as I could.”
Adams’ first solo gig was at the Bridge Hotel in Castlemaine, just down the road from where she lived.
“Solo performing was a big step for me in my musical journey,” Adams said.
“It gave me a lot of confidence. Rather than three or four gigs a year, I was getting a towards gig (every) week.”
The support from central Victoria was key for Adams achieving her musical goals.
“I got it in my head that if could achieve something, it was playing the Bendigo Blues and Roots Music Festival. That was my one big goal for the year,” she said.
“Bendigo and Castlemaine were so supportive and have such great music scenes. The only way to build experience and confidence is getting out there and playing in a lot of different situations.”
“The blues festival is a great festival and it would be my dream to see the same type of music culture that Bendigo has in Mt Gambier. It would be amazing.”
Adams’ trip to the X Factor was the result of her searching for the next step in her musical journey.
“I thought something else needs to happen. And it came in a package I didn’t expect but it has been a step up in terms of my development as a musician and blown me away,” she said.
“People have preconceptions about shows like this but any that I had have been blown out of water. I’m working with amazing people and there’s a real collaboration.”
Adams is on James Blunt’s Over-25 team on the X Factor and has performed songs including Jefferson Airplane’s Somebody to Love, Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down) and Aerosmith’s Dream On.
“James (Blunt) has been picking my songs for the live shows and I think we know each other well enough that he knows the styles and music I like,” Adams said.
“But at the same time he sees potential and is pushing my boundaries. I don’t think I could do it myself.
“Having help to workshop a song to where I want it to be and the mentality for the performance side – James been amazing.”
This week’s X Factor live show theme is “trailblazers” with Adams set to push her boundaries again.
“I can’t tell you what song I’ll sing but I think people will be surprised,” she said. “It’s a musician I have secretly admired.”