What is it like to dream of working in music but have to battle with anxiety every time you walk on stage?
Rachael Garvey describes her music as “stripped back indie.” She says that her sound has an acoustic and singer/songwriter feel but also aims to be chilled out and personal with her music.
Originally, it was her parents were the ones who got her into the music scene.
“[Music] was just always on around the house when I was a kid,” she says, revealing that she was basically raised with music. If it wasn’t her parents playing old rock and roll, then it was her sister blasting R&B. Rachael couldn’t escape music so instead embraced it.
Her dad’s talent with a guitar also inspired her further showing that music is truly in the Garvey’s genes. She first picked a ukulele and then picking up a bit of knowledge of the keyboard at school. Once she had outgrown her uke, she asked her parents for a guitar and the rest is history.
Rachael took the leap in 2017 and started study music full time at Access to Music. She wanted a change from the same group of people she had always been with and wanted to put herself out of her comfort zone and to try something new.
“I just figured that if I didn’t at least try then I would never know if it [a career in music] would have happened,” she says when talking about making the switch from media to music.
However, studying music did dent Rachael’s motivation to perform. She didn’t enjoy being told how or what to perform rather than just performing out of passion. But the cure for this was pairing up with the like-minded fellow student and musician, Mia Eden. Mia shared the same interests in music and the same desire the mix together genres that hadn’t been combined before.
Singing isn’t Rachael’s only passion; she’s drawn to the music industry as a whole. Whether it’s delving into music journalism on her blog or starting her own music podcast Mia. Rachael enjoys the freedom music allows.
Not too long before enrolling in her music course, Rachael had her first gig at a little pub in her hometown and brought all her friends and family to watch. When looking back to that gig, Rachael shares how extremely nervous she was and how she wishes she had just gone for it.
“Don’t hesitate,” she said talking to her past self. She told herself “to just be chill because there are people watching that will really like you.” It wasn’t all doom and gloom looking back though, as she thought it went quite well for a first gig.
She shares how hard it was to overcome the anxiety she deals with every day to be able to share her music with the world. The trick is really just trying to believe in the talent you have and being proud of the small achievements.
“It’s like a whole different person steps in front of the anxiety… It’s really just putting it aside as much as possible. You’re here for a reason. You’ve been selected for this gig for a reason. You’ve been accepted in this college for a reason. You obviously have talent.”
Rachael’s biggest musical inspiration is The Beatles. Although Rachael is only 18, she has an old soul and has been a lifelong fan of the band. In her dream world, she’d love to collaborate with John Lennon.
Outside of music, Rachael mentioned her late granddad who has been a huge influence on her life as a whole. He taught her, that when it comes to her art, no one can dictate what you do. She tries to live the same way he did, true to herself and attempting to make her dream a reality.