Singer-songwriter Lily Grace sings in an American accent but speaks in an Australian one. After the success of her debut album “Old Enough To Know Better” on Australian country music charts last year, she is touring internationally.
Grace also moved to Nashville, which has one of the deepest country music scenes and histories of any city on the planet, to further her music career.
While on her current tour, Grace got to experience the Midwest and Wisconsin for the first time in her life. On the second day of her tour through the Midwest, Grace sat down with The Daily Cardinal between stops in Dubuque, IA and Oshkosh, WI.
This interview has been edited for clarity and brevity.
What are some of your favorite things that you’ve seen while touring?
A lot of cornfields, that’s for sure. We’ve been driving and seeing all these new places, and as someone who comes from a small town in Australia I feel like the movies were my first impression of all these American cities. Now I get to see them in person and meet cool people. I think that seeing where people live and what different walks of life look like is a really special thing, and I feel grateful that I get to have this experience.
Have you had any Midwestern experiences on this tour?
We’ve been here for about two days so we’re very fresh to the Midwest in that respect. We recently did California, which I thought was really beautiful. I come from a beach town so that felt like home for me, and I love that. I tried — what are they called — the cheese things you have here. The… is it cheese curds? Tried it for the first time last night and I was not disappointed, let me tell you that much.
What are you working on right now musically?
We’re really working on touring and putting out new songs. I’m living in Nashville now as of six months ago, which is the Mecca for country music and making great records. That just means I get to pour myself into songwriting, collaborating and pushing myself musically. We’re working on the next EP at the moment. We just released a new song recently called Wingwoman, which is part of that EP, and are now finishing up the rest of the songs that will tie up that project, and then working on shows — getting out to play them live for people too.
What excites you about living in Nashville? Are there a lot of connections you’ve been able to make?
One hundred percent. I feel like it’s the most inspiring place to live as a country music artist. It’s like Disneyland for country musicians. There are a million things to fire you up and get you excited about country music. People who believe in it, people who appreciate it, a city that’s built on a strong appreciation of the musical genre and just this wonderful city where people strive for excellence with their musical talent, which I think is a really great place to be and push yourself creatively. The first time I ever landed in Nashville I knew I wanted to move there. I was like “oh my goodness mom I love it here, I have to get here at some point and do this with my life."
What’s your favorite place you’ve performed?
A venue back home in Australia called Brisbane River Stage. It’s this awesome venue they’ve set up. It’s like an outdoor amphitheater, and it’s really cool how it’s built. It’s on a hill so everyone can see and sit on their picnic rugs and watch the concert, and it’s on the river. I think anything where water can be connected to music is the best. I’m a big water baby. I grew up in the oceans surfing, doing all the things. I think if it’s a lake concert, anything near a body of water, that’s a really great time.
Grace initially planned to perform Sept. 22 in Madison at the Bur Oak but said she plans to reschedule her performance to sometime in April.
Oliver Gerharz is the arts editor and former podcast director for the Daily Cardinal. He is a journalism major and former host of the Cardinal Call. Follow him on Twitter @OliverGerharz.
