Tyneside’s fast rising indie-folk talent drops new single June 2
Same day live date follows sold-out debut headline show
Award-winning singer songwriter Katie Grace pays an emotional tribute to lifelong friends and her treasured North East on emotive new single Tangled Up.
The talented teenager started busking on the streets of North Tyneside aged 11 – just a stone’s throw from where local hero Sam Fender learnt his trade.
Katie released debut EP From The Wildflowers in the summer of 2021 with lead track Thunder fast becoming a favourite of BBC Introducing and more.
But the 18-year-old’s post lockdown career has been gathering pace and Tangled Up represents an artist ready to tackle the future with renewed optimism.
“I suppose Tangled Up is a reflection on how it felt for me as a teenager to come out of lockdown and suddenly realise how much older all the people I’d grown up around were becoming,” said the former Youth Music Awards nominee.
“I wrote the song at about 2am after coming home from my best friend’s 17th birthday party. I wrote the first idea for the chorus on my hand!
“We’d been running down her street in the dark and people had been crying in the back garden.
“The night was shaped by all of those typical teenage party experiences which, due to lockdown, were pretty new to me!
“That night felt like a real confirmation that we weren’t kids anymore. I’d known some of these people since I was a three-year-old and I think lockdown contributed to how abrupt that change was.”
Katie sold out her debut headline show within days earlier this year with some fans forced to stand outside in the rain as her full band ran through a stunning set.
The North Tyneside-based artist returns to The Engine Room, in North Shields, on June 2 for an acoustic gig — before wrapping up her A Levels and preparing for festival season and a September move to London.
Katie’s first headline show and the recording of Tangled Up were made possible after she received the Alan Hull Award – an accolade recognising the best emerging songwriters in the North East.
Named in memory of Lindisfarne’s former frontman and overseen by the band’s long-time drummer Ray Laidlaw, the grant-based award allowed Katie to take her career to the next level.
“I can’t express just how much receiving the Alan Hull Award meant to me,” she added.
“It felt like people were putting a lot of faith put in my songwriting, which was something I really needed at the time.
“It also allowed me to put actual goals for my music in place — like organising my headline gig, rehearsing with my band, and recording Tangled Up.
“I’m really proud of Tangled Up because, in a way, it represents my growth in the year since I wrote it, how I’ve been able to manage my career and how I’ve been able to advocate for my own music in live and studio settings.”
Tangled Up was recorded at Newcastle’s Blank Studios with engineer and producer Chris McManus.
“I played most of the instruments including the bass, electric guitar and piano,” added Katie.
“My friend and collaborator Izaac [Wilson] played some synths and Chris added the amazing drums in the second half of the track.”
Likened to Joni Mitchell, Suzanne Vega and Taylor Swift, Katie has forged her live reputation alongside members of The Levellers, Elaine Palmer, Tom A Smith, Ceitidh Mac and more.
Appearances at This Is Tomorrow and Cumbria’s Esk Fest drew warm praise and she has been added to the bill at 2023’s brand new Coastella Festival.
Tangled Up will be available for download and streaming from June 2 and tickets for her show at The Engine Room on the same day are available via https://w.wescantickets.com/ch_npVQbfXrkK
Upcoming Katie Grace live dates
June 2, 2023 – The Engine Room, North Shields
July 2, 2023 – Coastella Festival, North Shields
Socials
Facebook: @katiegracemusic
Insta: @katiegracemusic
Twitter: @KatieGraceMusi1
YouTube: @katiegracemusic
