Rachel Barlow is excited about her career in music. PHOTO / Chloe Palmer Photography
There's a new face in Hamilton's music scene and she's causing quite a stir.
Rachel Barlow has been wowing local bar punters for just under three months, but with talent this big, who knows where it will take her.
Rachel, 23, said she had no real plans of become a musician growing up.
"I mean, I've grown up with a lot of music, performing arts, and dance, Riverlea Theatre productions and that kind of thing. I tried a couple of musical instruments but nothing really stuck. My parents always made sure I was really busy with extra-curricular activities, but mainly I was a dancer. That's what I was supposed to be. I did about 13 dance lessons a week at the height of it all," she said.
At age 17, Rachel injured her back, closing one door and opening another.
"I injured my back quite badly and the doctor told me that I needed to lay off the physical activity for a little while, so I went from doing something everyday to doing nothing. So I kind of just picked up my sister's old guitar that was just sitting in the lounge. It was just sitting there not being used and I had a lot of time on my hands, so I taught myself how to play."
After a while, Rachel's parents enrolled her in guitar lessons, but she didn't make it through a full term.
"I found that I learned quicker on my own. I just felt like there was no point Mum and Dad spending all that money on lessons when this was something I could do myself at home."
It was then that Rachel started working in the hospitality industry.
"We had musicians coming in and doing their acoustic sets, much like what I do now, and I just thought, 'this is cool, I really like this'.
"By then I'd learned to play a little bit of guitar and learned a few songs. So one day I asked one of the musicians if I could get up and have a sing, and he said, 'yeah, man'. So I got up and had a song, and that's when the passion was planted."
But it was still another few years of attending open mic nights at local bars before she got offered her first official gig at Little George.
"I went to Little George for a drink with some friends, and I just asked one of the musicians who was having a break if I could sing a song while he was on his break. So I got up there, had a sing, and then the manager came out and asked me if I wanted a job. That was when I was like, 'oh, okay, I must be good enough for someone to offer me a job, so maybe I should start taking this seriously'."
Rachel admits the music scene in Hamilton may lack quantity, with only a handful of local acts playing full-time gigs in bars, but says the talent in Hamilton is second to none.
"There are some amazingly talented musicians that I support at the open mic nights, and it would be great to see more of them playing at cafes during the day. Having local business supporting these local artists would be beneficial to everyone."
Rachel said being a woman in the Hamilton music scene is a little daunting as it's "predominantly a boys' club", but she said that gives her more drive to find her own style within the music she plays.
"Right now I don't write my own songs. I play covers of everything, from Elton John and jazz ballads to LMFAO I'm Sexy and I Know It ... I genuinely take delight in learning other people's songs and playing around with them, putting my own spin on them, chucking in some jazz chords here and there, and having people tell me they like that version, like 'you've made that really quirky' or 'that's so different to the original' is really flattering," she said.
"But every day is new. I'm still young. There's still so much to see and experience. I want to travel the country, playing music. So I'm just networking now. Just trying to get my name out there.
"Taking it one day at a time and trying to keep my feet on the ground. "I'm not trying to sound like a hippy, but everything is a blessing."
To check out Rachael's talent, head along to Little George on Hood St every Friday from 7pm.