Jack River emerged onto the Australian music scene strongly in 2016, the release of her debut EP Highway Songs No. 2 marking her as a talent to watch. Since joining the I OH YOU family, the musician has been building a solid name for herself but has been taking her time in getting her music out there; instead of throwing songs up on the internet and having everything follow, Jack River has created somewhat of a mystique around herself and, once she started performing with her full band, we were introduced bit by bit, to this exciting artist still blossoming as a performer on stage.
Which brings us to the Falls Festival in Lorne, where we were able to see Jack River play before New Year’s. The crowd gathered early for her and responded brilliantly to the music, a reception she was nothing short of stoked with.
“It was so cool,” she says during our interview post-set. “It was one of the first times I’ve seen people down there, dancing and singing the lyrics…a cool first moment.”
“I think it’s finally in a place where I feel really comfortable and excited about it,” she says about her live show. “We’ve only played about 10 shows, even though we’ve released the EP this year; two small tours and a few festivals. I had a long break before releasing this music, I didn’t get to play it live; I absolutely love it. It’s this weird place you can’t practice for, you can’t invent until you’re right there.”
Looking ahead to a new year of music and shows in 2017, Jack River fills us in on what’s exciting her the most, particularly being part of the wave of strong females creating some brilliant music in Australia..
“I guess I’m feeling two things in 2016, the first thing was the surge of women playing sick, gritty, guitar rock-pop stuff. I’m really into that, from the depth of Gretta Ray‘s voice to Ali Barter and Alex Lahey and Bec Sandridge, all those girls. …In Australia, there’s been an amazing little push of women, I love it. There’s a lot of camaraderie. I think, growing up, it looked like women were kind of weird about each other but I love that all these girls are like, ‘Fuck yeah’.”
Check out the full interview below!
Photo by Briana Davis.
———-
