In the latest installation of Millers Music Lockdown Stories, we speak to 27 year old singer-songwriter, three times nominee at the UK Country Music Spotlight Awards and NHS Louise Parker. Louise has spent the past year not only preparing herself for the release of her new album, but has fully embraced the world of livestreaming to her fan bases across the world.
We caught up with Louise to share her story…
“I’m originally from Essex but I’ve lived in Austin, Texas and Nashville, Tennessee. I fell in love with music from a really young age, I don’t remember ever wanting to be or do anything else. I’ve always wanted to be a singer-songwriter and started writing songs when I was about 12 years old just because I could. I always remember thinking “people on the radio are doing it, why can’t I?”
I got my first guitar for my 16th birthday and haven’t looked back since, I taught myself how to play, started writing songs on guitar and since then have toured America, toured Europe, toured the UK, released 2EPs and have my debut album coming out in April.
I’ve always used music to help me through things so whenever I play I always have in mind that, maybe it will help somebody else. That’s my goal, it’s all about helping people. It’s also the reason I work for the NHS, I just love helping people.”
Whilst Louise’s passion for music is incredibly clear, we asked her why she feels it is so crucial for young people and adults to learn music but also how they can help discover the innate power behind music.
“I think hearing relatable lyrics and songs helps me, if I hear something and think “I’ve been through that”, I’ll often put a song on repeat until it’s the death of me, but it’s also incredibly healing.
What’s so magical about music is that it doesn’t matter if they’re singing in English, it can be in any language, but the emotion behind music is so real and so raw that it just has this way of translating through all languages and I love that.
There’s so much that learning an instrument can bring people. It’s not just the enjoyment of playing. I could have the worst day at work and come home, pick up a guitar and it changes my whole mood. It’s even helped my memory, I have an incredible memory for dates and times and random information, but I think that comes from learning a musical instrument because you have to always be learning chord shapes, or lyrics. Keeping your mind and fingers active is really healthy mentally, I always think that as long as you’re learning, your mind always keeps itself running.”
Whilst Louise can normally be found touring across Europe or the UK, the past year has obviously made that not possible. However Louise has continued to innovate and connect with her audiences in new and unique ways.
“In a way the past year has been great because it’s helped me connect to a whole new level of fans in the form of live streaming. I can do a live stream for an hour and connect my fans from America and Norway and the UK all in one place under one roof. I’d never get that at a gig!
You’ll never get that mixture of people in one room so I think that is really special. I also feel I’ve been able to get to know them more because I get to ask “How are you?” and they get to reply and ask about my day and week. I get to ask about their families, you don’t normally get that in a gig setting because usually I’ll meet them at the merch stand for 20-30 seconds and we sign CDs and get a photo and that’s great, but then obviously they move on and I don’t get to have that conversation.
So it’s great to be able to sit down once a week and actually be able to converse with them. It’s really brought that next level to my social media and they’ve kept me sane. They’re always saying to me “You’ve helped me out, I look forward to your live streams each week” and I say to them “No it’s you who has helped me out over the past year!
I can only speak for myself, but I know livesteams will never go away completely, it will be slightly different, maybe not every week like I am at the moment, but it will definitely still be a part of my life. As I said, it’s just been this amazing tool for getting to know my fans, but I miss gigging live!
You don’t get that same kind of euphoria that you do in a live environment when you’re standing on stage and you can kind of see faces but you can’t really because it’s too dark, or people clapping at the end of a song. “
Finally, we asked Louise what else she is most excited for and has planned for the coming year.
“Music wise, I’ve got my debut album coming out in April which I announced on a livestream last week. It’s my first album so I’m really excited about it, I’m hoping to get out there and get some new visuals recorded. I released my first music video in July last year and have done three since, so I’m loving that creative outlet, so I’m hoping to get out and do that again. Other than that I’m looking forward to the summer and the sun, but just having lighter mornings, evenings it’s always the best time of year.
I think everyone should know how important music is because if it was taken away, everyone would miss it. Whether that’s in movies, or just on spotify, it’s naturally so a part of people’s lives that I don’t think anyone really realises just how important it is, I hope everything gets back to normal soon!”
If you’re feeling inspired by Louise’s story (we sure are!) then now is the time to start your own musical journey! Get in touch with us today, or if you’d like to share your own lockdown story, simply get in touch with us @millersmusic or use #MillersMusic for your chance to feature!
Check our more lockdown stories here, or if you are looking to start your own musical journey, contact our team today!
FOLLOW LOUISE PARKER HERE