We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Essie Thomas a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Essie, appreciate you joining us today. I’m sure there have been days where the challenges of being an artist or creative force you to think about what it would be like to just have a regular job. When’s the last time you felt that way? Did you have any insights from the experience?

I am one of the lucky ones. I’ve worked as a musician and events professional since I was a teenager and have always made an income from being a creative. I’ve always acknowledged my job as who I am and it’s never really seemed like work, even when it was hard. During the pandemic, like many musicians, I had to try my hand at a few “regular jobs”, and I have to say it was definitely a very different game. Slowly, I began teaching music more and more and now do that full-time alongside my performance work, so I think I’ve found a pretty good balance between regular and creative in my work. If you can call being a music teacher a regular job.

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

I’m an Australian Singer-Songwriter but have made myself at home in the Bay Area, California. I showed an interest in music from a very young age and started to pick up bits on guitar from age 4. I began to write little songs and was lucky to be swooped up by a local manager at 11 years old. I started playing quite seriously around our tiny corner of the world in the middle of almost nowhere, Portland, Victoria, AUS.

I was a real hit at youth week events, and people ate it up because I was singing and playing several-hour sets in pubs and bars as this pre-teen kid. I suppose it was quite a gimmick. I ended up leaving school at 13 to pursue music at a tech school in a nearby town and was lucky to have been guided by an incredible mentor who helped me find my way into the festival scene. I would stage manage and MC early on until I moved into festivals and full-time performance when I was about 16. I graduated to a venue manager, artist liaison and worked all over the country. It was a very fun and colourful time in my life.

Eventually, I did less managing and more performing at the festivals I had worked at and was lucky enough to pick up a full band through my travels. We had some of the best times playing at festivals and touring the east coast of the country. We played my original work under Essie Thomas Ensemble.
One of my favourite shows was at a festival called Splendor in The Grass. It’s a pretty rawkus festival and has a younger crowd mostly. We played on one of the smaller stages, and I really didn’t expect much as there were some really big names on the bill at the same time as me. Amazingly, our stage was like a shortcut to one of the main stages, and as folks were making their way to see King Gizzard and the Wizzard Lizard, they got caught up dancing at our stage and really filled the tent. I play Contemporary Folk music. There’s a bluesy twist to it, and we add in a few jazz licks, but for the most part, it’s pretty chill. That night we really took it up a notch, and I couldn’t stop laughing because there were people crowd-surfing and pushing up against the barrier like we were a big old rock band. I even got to see a dude drinking out of a boot on his friend’s shoulders.
I released a live EP from that festival. I do sell it as a download code on the back of handmade coasters, but realistically, folks can find it on all of the platforms, so there’s not been so much demand for the physical version.

Since being in the States, I jumped through some immigration hoops, which meant that I wasn’t able to play shows for a solid 18 months, which was really hard. Finally, in 2020, I received my green card with enough time to do an Australian tour and the world to shut down.

Farmer’s Markets have been a godsend with COVID-19 bringing everyone out of venues. I played one or two markets a week while the world was still a little hesitant to go outside, and I created a Patreon (patreon.com/essiethomas), which I still post on here and there. Mostly, I’ve fallen in love with teaching music. I work with all ages and just live for the moment when a student realises that they’ve exceeded their own expectations of themselves and moved further in their own musical journey.

2024 will bring some really great shows for me and the new band. Most of that will be announced a little later into the year, though. Follow my Instagram (@essiethomasmusic) and check out the website (www.essiethomas.com) to get updates on shows or to have a look through the shop. Maybe you’ll decide that an Essie Thomas hoodie is just what you need in your life.

Have you ever had to pivot?

Like a lot of creatives, I did the online pivot during the pandemic. I started a Patreon, and slowly, folks started asking for lessons. I obliged, and did online lessons all of the way through the shutdown until we were able to move back to in-person lessons. Since then, I have worked at a handful of music schools and am so excited to see my own teaching business grow. My students mean the world to me, and It’s a very fulfilling thing to see folks enjoy the lesson so much that they bring in their friends.

I love working with groups the most and guiding folks in band dynamics, teaching people to rely on each other and understand that their contribution is just as important as their fellow bandmates. Song-writing sessions can also be an incredible experience as people really do bring out their innermost thoughts, and it is an honour to have people allow such vulnerability during their sessions with me.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

My aim for my creativity reflects my beliefs that we are all here for a reason. I think it goes back to my early meaning of life spirals as a child. We all need a sense of purpose, and music has always been the best thing I have to offer when it comes to trying to make the world a better place. Even if it’s a small-scale thing, knowing that my sister has a favourite song of mine that helps her through hard times. Having someone tell me that they play one of my tunes on repeat because it makes them feel like someone knows how they feel, and then being able to share a lived experience with young musicians who are trying to learn how to be human in such a crazy time looks like progress in my journey. Music is the medicine that I know how to share with others and I’m so grateful that I was lucky enough to randomly end up as a creative being.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.essiethomas.com/
• Instagram: instagram.com/essiethomasmusic
• Facebook: facebook.com/essiethomasmusic
• Youtube: Youtube.com/essiethomasmusic
• Other: Patreon.com/essiethomasmusic