U on Sunday’s Hot 19 for 2019: Tia Gostelow

Not many 19-year-olds can be described as music industry veterans, but Mackay-raised and now Brisbane-based singer-songwriter Tia Gostelow, who has been playing guitar since the age of seven, is not like most her age.

Not many 19-year-olds can be described as music industry veterans, but Mackay-raised and now Brisbane-based singer-songwriter Tia Gostelow, who has been playing guitar since the age of seven, is not like most her age.

TIA GOSTELOW

19, musician

STAR FACTOR: Early pub gigs gave this talented teen Thick Skin plus experience beyond her years

Gostelow first came to national attention in 2016 when her song State of Art won Triple J’s Indigenous Initiative.

In September, Gostelow released her debut full-length Thick Skin, an album brimming with emotional depth and an innate knack for melody that belies her relative youth, and last year she was one of the 40 most-played artists on Triple J.

Gostelow performed at Brisbane music industry showcase event BIGSOUND for a second time last year, sold out her album launch at Fortitude Valley’s Black Bear Lodge, was hand-picked by Ball Park Music to open for the band at their Brisbane Festival show at Riverstage and performed at Falls Festival.

Thick Skin – which features singles including Strangers (featuring LANKS), Phone Me, Vague Utopia and State of Art – was also named feature album of the week on Triple J, which Gostelow says she was “completely taken aback by”.

“It shows you that hard work does pay off,” she tells U on Sunday. “I’ve been playing at pubs since I was 12 and by the time I was 16 I was playing those shows from 10pm until one in the morning. It was definitely an experience but I’m so glad I did it because it has made me super resilient and to know what I want.”

Early next month Gostelow will embark on her biggest headline tour to date, which will include five Queensland dates, and in March she will be heading to the US to perform at the Austin, Texas, music industry conference and festival South
by Southwest.

“I’ll be going to America for about three weeks and going to New York, Los Angeles and Austin, and there are also talks of a European tour in May. This year I think there’ll be a lot of overseas travel and trying to grow my audience there and starting on album number two.”

And next Sunday, when Triple J’s Hottest 100 countdown takes place, there’s a fair chance at least one of Thick Skin’s songs will be included.

“I’m trying not to set any expectations for myself because I don’t want to be disappointed if it doesn’t. But I’m in a pretty good spot now with being able to survive, I’m starting to get really good shows and festival offers … I’m doing all right, which is good.”