A year after Nancie Schipper was propelled onto the Australian music scene as a triple j unearthed high competition finalist, the 19-year-old has found her voice.
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The past 12 months have seen the Killarney born-and-raised singer-songwriter hit stages across Victoria supporting the likes of Ball Park Music, San Cisco, Jack River, Ruby Fields and former unearthed high winner Gretta Ray.
Now, with an array of gigs booked in the diary and new music on the way, Schipper is glowing with positivity on where she's heading.
"In my last recording sessions I was trying to figure out who and where I want to be as a musician and now I know the artist I want to be," she said.
"I was brought up on a wide-variety of music and when I first started out I trying a bit of country and folk.
"But now I feel like I've really hit my stride."
Recently Schipper was announced on the BIGSOUND line-up.
The annual festival in Brisbane aims to bring the best-of-the-best up-and-coming artists from across the country to Fortitude Valley in September to discover the future of Australian music.
Schipper will support Trophy Eye's front man John Floreani later that month on his highly-anticipated debut solo tour.
But before the whirlwind begins, Schipper will hit the Portland stage this weekend supporting folk duo Little Georgia.
"They're an awesome duo with great songs and I've been a huge fan for a while now," she said.
"I first heard Little Georgia at the Port Fairy Folk Festival, now I've done about five shows with them and I'm really excited to be performing with them again.
"I'll being playing a bunch of originals throughout the set."
Trying to define Schipper's sound is no easy task.
With varied musical elements, multiple genres creeping through and relatable lyrics all topped off with her much-loved Australian pronunciations, the youngster is in a category with some of the country's most popular acts.
"It's definitely hard to narrow down my sound genre-wise but I think I fall in the indie, folk with a bit of pop area," she said.
"My favourite band is Middle Kids and there's a bit of that vibe in there.
"I've swapped from an acoustic to an electric guitar which is a little different but I feel like my sound is heading in this direction.
"I write about things that happen everyday or conversations I have with my friends. But mostly I write about things that annoy me.
"I'll be having a bit of a rant and I think 'oh, this could be a song'. It's a bit like a therapy session come to think of it."
Working with producer and sound engineer John Castles in Melbourne has helped Schipper shape her melodies.
"I've been working with John for a while and he helps build the music," she said
"We basically just figure it out along the way and hit record and see what we end up with."
Incorporating a band into her recording and performing has added a whole new dimension to Schipper's sound.
The bolder sound not only gives her greater confidence, it's made her music stronger.
The Warrnambool College graduate hopes her direction will consolidate as she climbs the tough music industry ladder.
"I have some more supporting shows coming up, a new song coming out and hopefully an EP soon," she said.
"Music is definitely what I want to be doing which can be hard because it's not a guaranteed career.
"But I can't see myself doing anything else."
Schipper is opening the Portland Arts Centre stage on Saturday night supporting Little Georgia on their Australian tour. Tickets are available through the Glenelg Shire Council's arts page.
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