Exciting days lay ahead for a Warrnambool young achiever Gabby Steel, who is set to launch her debut EP and perform the national anthem at the May Racing Carnival.
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The Warrnambool local fell in love with music from a young age. Not only for herself, but for the enjoyment it brought others.
"I just sort of always loved music and loved the feeling of seeing people get excited," Steel said. "Music is for everyone. It's universal. Everyone loves music. Everyone gets excited by it. I just think that's really awesome."
The songs have got that meaning behind them. About mental health. About trying to overcome different things and being pushed down by society.
- Gabby Steel
The 19-year-old songstress, who won the 2018 Koroit Irish Festival Danny Boy competition, has used her love of music to grow not only as a performer but as a role model in the community.
Steel was the overall winner of the 2017 Warrnambool Youth Achiever Awards, and in 2018 was recognized as Warrnambool Youth Award joint-female winner in community and leadership.
For the humble teenager, her accomplishments are just part of contributing within the community.
"Everyone has a different set of skills and talents, and it's how you use those to contribute," Steel said. "I might really like music and that's where my skills are. It's about as a community combining strengths to be able to do good things. Through music, that's how I contribute.
"If there is a charity event or something, I might not be able to help organise it but I might be able to help donate some of my time to perform."
Since leaving school, Steel has been balancing her time between teaching singing and a range of instruments at local primary schools and with students at home, and recording her debut EP.
The origins of her EP started with friend Nathan McTaggart, who approached Steel with the concept of recording in a studio he had set up at home.
The neophytes didn't look back.
"I thought, what have I got to lose here? It took us over a year to do it, but we just sort of had fun. It was a why not sort of moment," Steel said.
The debut EP will officially be released on April 14 with a gig at The Loft starting at 3pm. Steel will be joined by special guest appearances from fellow south-west musicians Kimberly Gill and Renae Wilkinson.
The EP features six original tracks centered around the concept of mental health and empowerment.
"My friend Brianna Mansbridge did the cover art. It has a tall poppy with some sunflowers underneath. That represents the tall poppy syndrome idea, and trying to rise above that," Steel said. "The songs have got that meaning behind them. About mental health. About trying to overcome different things and being pushed down by society. Sometimes people are trying to cut you down, so this is about trying to rise above that. It represents the whole EP."
Following the launch of her EP, Steel is also set to perform the national anthem at Warrnambool's May Racing Carnival
"It's a big deal. I really like performing it," Steel said. "Seeing everyone else stand there proudly and they're singing along. I think the solidarity is nice just to watch it. Standing on stage you can see everyone."
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