Ö÷²¥´óÐã

Grace Petrie has been compared to Billy Bragg, Alanis Morissette, even Kate Nash.

While these comparisons are justified, she is also a very unique performer who can confidently stand alone from the crowd.

She also has the ability to mix her warm sense of humour with songs about failed relationships. A balance that very few artists manage to juggle.

Guitar Love

Take a listen to two of Grace's acoustic songs...

Grace would love to have a long and interesting story about falling in love with her guitar, but she says it's a rather ordinary affair.

"I would like to say that it some interesting romantic story, but actually I was in school and there were guitar lessons advertised, so I thought that seems like a cool thing to do!

"I never thought it would take me as far as it has. Signed up, had lessons for about six weeks, and then the guitar teacher moved on and I carried on for ever more."

Like many soloists before her Grace became hooked on the guitar and found it difficult to stop practicing, dedicating hours and hours crafting her talent.

"I don't know if I took to it more naturally than anyone else, for any other reason that I just really wanted to be good at it.

"So I practiced ridiculous amounts, like eight hours a day, just practicing!

"Its odd with the guitar. There comes a point when a key just turns and suddenly you can do it. You practice for like three or four weeks with absolutely no success and you feel like 'I'm never going to get this', then something changes and you just do.

"I think I always knew from the first time I started having lessons, it was something that was going to be important to me!"

"Throughout my teenage years, I've been in a couple of bands, and I think I just found that the songs that I write are incredibly personal to me, you can probably tell for the lyrical content that they are things that our quite close to my heart.

"I've never been that good at collaborating. I think I find it quite hard to share other people’s experiences and when it comes to song writing with someone else, I've never really got into the zone.

"I think I can only really write songs when its something that has really broken my heart!"

Not All Heartbreak

As well as being a serious song writer, Grace also enjoys to have a laugh with her audience in between songs. Although this skill hasn't come easily.

"Speaking to the audience is something that has taken a lot of work and a lotÌý practice… I don't think I'm very good at it now,Ìý but I used to be really awful! I used to be really shy on stage!

"When you are singing about things that are so close to your heart; failed relationships, romances and various ventures of the heart, I think that - when you're singing about things that have really been painful for you - it is nice to inject a little bit of humour!"

The singer-songwriter market is a very crowded place, however when I went to see Grace play live I could tell she was a cut above the rest. By the time she was performing, the venue was packed with a very supportive crowd.

Talking to her afterward I found she had a very relaxed, down to earth tone that I believe complimented her music perfectly.

Unlike some soloists, on stage she wasn't pretending to be someone else, which was very refreshing. When you come and watch Grace Petrie, you get Grace Petrie!