THIS year has been the biggest of Leah Senior’s career and it shows no signs of getting any smaller in the few remaining weeks.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
This weekend, Senior will be part of the sold-out Queenscliff Music Festival, joining the likes of Ben Harper & The Innocent Criminals, George, Killing Heidi, Paul Kelly & Charlie Owen, Peter Garrett & The Alter Egos, and dozens more on a packed line-up.
“It’s very exciting – I can’t wait,” she said of the festival, which she last attended as a kid “years and years ago”.
Last week, the Warrnambool export was among the nominees at The Age Music Victoria Awards, with her record Summer’s On The Ground missing out to Oh Pep in the best folk or roots album category.
And before that she was among the artists entertaining the crowd at Kennedys Creek Music Festival.
“That’s a super-nice little festival,” the singer-songwriter said.
“I stuck around and caught up with lots of old friends. It was really cool to see lots of Warrnambool people doing their thing and making music.”
Senior hasn’t had a lot of time to catch up with old friends as her career has gone from strength to strength.
On top of Kennedys Creek and The Age Music Victoria Awards, recent months have been filled with support gigs for Immigrant Union, Perch Creek, Ben Wright Smith, Davey Lane, Gregory Porter, and Cash Savage & The Last Drinks, as well as performing at major music events such as Big Sound in Queensland and Wave Rock in Perth.
“It’s been a really fun year, playing lots of really nice shows,” she said.
It’s all on the back of Summer’s On The Ground, a beautifully unadorned album that puts Senior’s warm and intimate voice and her way with words to the fore.
“I got lots of nice feedback – people seemed to like it, but it’s funny for me, because it was recorded quite a long time ago,” she said.
“In the last few months I’ve been focusing on finishing the next one to come out early next year.”
Senior described the next record as “more ballsy”, with a full band set-up featuring on a couple of tracks.
“I like to keep it minimal, with classic arrangements, that sort of thing. I don’t like having production on something that dates it.”