Libby Steel hopes her performance at this weekend’s Queenscliff Music Festival will kickstart her music career.
After winning a triple j Unearthed competition to open the festival, the 23-year-old said it could be her big break.
“I’m very fortunate. It’s been an exciting couple of weeks,” Steel said.
“I’m so excited. I’ve worked really hard to get to this stage and now this feels like the next level.
“It’s a different calibre of event, so it really opens up doors for me.”
Steel, who hails from Cobden but lives at Torquay, has had a number of smaller gigs including supporting Taylor Henderson and playing at the Australian Open.
The emerging songwriting said she enjoyed making original music.
“It’s something I’ve always loved doing.
“I still don’t really think my songs are anything special. It’s just the thoughts that come out of my head and it’s made me more confident.
“You just hope people understand and appreciate it. My kind of writing is based around what I’ve personally experienced, so it’s a bit youthful and a bit playful.”
Steel described her music as “playful pop” but was reluctant to pigeon-hole herself to any specific style.
“Every song is so different,” she said.
“It’s hard to narrow it down to one genre. I’ve got one jazz track and one pop song and a bit of everything.
“I love music as a whole and I don’t want to narrow myself down to one genre just because I have to. The beauty of music is you can just do what feels right.”
Steel studied a professional communications degree at RMIT but said she was now solely focussed on music.
“The opportunity that Queenscliff and triple j Unearthed have given me is amazing and it opens up that new doorway,” she said.
“For me this is going to be my life. This is what I love and it’s taken me a long time to realise that.”
