We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Erin Ponsonby. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Erin below.

Erin, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?

From a young age I knew I wanted to pursue a career within the creative industries, whether it be singing, dancing, acting or art. But studying music in school helped me realise that performing is what I loved to do most. Being a competitive highland dancer from the age of 3 and a competitive bagpiper from the age of 10, I loved being in the spotlight and performing in front of an audience. Initially taking an interest in musicals and participating in school shows from a young age, I also loved to sing and would find any opportunity I could to show off my talent. Fast forward to my third year in high school, I would regularly go to gigs to see singers and boy bands and was inspired by them, as well the singer-songwriter’s who would support the headline artists. I noticed many artist would play guitar, so I decided to teach myself to accompany my singing.

During my final year of high school, an opportunity arose to take part in a ‘real world’ music and business education programme for high school pupils called ‘Behind The Noise’, where teens from Glasgow would form bands, rehearse regularly, and gain experience in a recording studio ahead of a big performance at the end of the programme. This was my very first gig, and having an insight into the industry was invaluable. From here, I knew I wanted to persue a career as a performing singer-songwriter.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I am a 25-year-old country-pop singer-songwriter from Clydebank, just outside of Glasgow. I have been gigging professionally since 2015 where I firstly supported folk duo Into the Ark on their UK tour through DF Concerts in Glasgow. Since then, I has played in many Glasgow venues, as well some of the biggest and most renowned, such as The Barrowlands, The Grand Ole Opry (Glasgow), King Tuts Wah Wah Hut, Broadcast, Classic Grand and Nice N Sleazy, to name a few. In 2018, I supported 80s Scottish chart toppers, Hue & Cry, and was asked that same year to support Into The Ark, yet again, after they placed 2nd on The Voice UK.

Whilst studying my BA Honours degree in Popular music at the University of the Highlands and Islands in Perth, I featured on the BBC Scotland series ‘Emilie Sande’s Street Symphony’ in 2019 as I busked in the streets of Perth.

Growing up as a competing bagpiper and highland dancer influenced my love for folk and traditional Scottish music, where I attended weekend jam sessions with the locals at The Fintry Inn in Stirlingshire. With many similarities to Scottish folk style, American country music became another huge influence on my songwriting when I initially fell in love with the genre after watching the series ‘Nashville’. While studying at university and writing/recording my debut EP ‘Little Town’, my musical style began to take shape by introducing more country-pop influences from the likes of Luke Combs, Taylor Swift, Kacey Musgraves, and Chris Young. Initially gigging as a solo acoustic artist, I have now introduced a backing band to my performances to help bring the country-pop style to life, and headlined Broadcast Glasgow in November 2022 where we received an amazing response from fans. Over the past year, I’ve been given so many amazing gig opportunities within the UK country scene. Some of these include performing at the UK’s biggest country music festival,Country To Country; supporting the Luke Combs Experience to a sold out audience, performing at Country On the Clyde (another well renowned UK festival) and meeting my talented friends Abbie Bell and The High Ryes at the Buck N Bull festival in London which resulted in us co-headlining two independently-organised country music events in Glasgow and Edinburgh earlier this month. I am so grateful for every opportunity the comes my way as this is helping me pave my way into the ever-growing UK country music scene and to achieve my goals as a perfoming and recording artist. With that said, a new music release is on the horizon which I cannot wait to share with the world.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

Like many people and artists around the world, 2020 was the year that my life completely flipped. I never thought I’d see the day where I wouldn’t be able to make money from music, whether it be gigs, live entertainment or even busking. When the lock downs came into place, the venues closed down, the bars emptied and the streets were deserted. Suddenly, I was in a panic to find a new job to make ends meet and finish my degree in popular music without being able to attend my University. Initially, I took any job I could get and began to work in a chip shop soon after some restrictions started to ease. As a creative being, this was not a working environment that I enjoyed and continued to search for other jobs. A role in social media spiked my interest, and luckily I was offered a six month internship to work with a local charity, Cash for Kids, which also had connections with one of Glasgow’s biggest radio stations, Clyde 1. Jumping forward to the end of my internship, the charity sadly couldn’t keep me on due to lack of funds, but thankfully through the charity’s connections, I was transferred to Europe’s largest family owned car dealership, Arnold Clark, and I am now a Social Media Executive. as well as continuing to pursue my music career. Although having previously worked closely with a radio station, this didn’t impact my career directly, but having the opportunity to to attend many events, this has allowed me to network with other creatives within the industry and meet many inspirational Scottish artists such as Lewis Capaldi, Amy MacDonald, Callum Beattie, Dougie MacLean and Nathan Evans.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

The most rewarding aspect of being an artist is being able to bring people together. Whether it be sharing my music with people who can relate to my stories and feel seen, giving my friends, family and fans live music events to enjoy and look forward to or being able to meet other creatives within the industry to learn from, build friendships with and share experiences with. Since emerging onto the UK country scene last year, I have made lifelong friends who share a love for the same genre, who are like-minded and who I can experience many more events and concerts with.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/erinponsonbymusic/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/erinponsonbymusic/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/erinponsonby_
• Youtube: https://www.tinyurl.com/erinponsonbyyoutube
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@erinponsonby