COVID and family tragedy inspire Sarah Leete to put her original music first

“Country music found me,” says singer-songwriter Sarah Leete ahead of her single launch tour that will bring her to Wagga on Friday night (23 September).

“I kicked this tour off on the weekend and it was just such a thrill to be back out there playing shows and to have people enjoying it.”

While musicians everywhere have struggled, the past few years have been particularly tough for Sarah after her father was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2018.

“They were living in Temora, so I had to move down there and take them to all kinds of appointments and stuff and then we had to move them back to the Central Coast,” she said, explaining that it was the beginning of a shattering three years.

Her father died in 2019, the music scene ground to a halt in 2020 and then her mother also became ill.

“During COVID I lost my mum, which wasn’t fun, and then I lost my dog at Christmas time,” Sarah explains, aware of the tragic irony that her journey is beginning to sound like a country song.

“I joke that if I could play it backwards, I’d get them all back, but sadly not to be,” she adds with a heavy sigh.

“If things come in threes, I’d like to think I’ve paid my dues and hopefully there are some good things coming this year.”

Originally from the NSW Central Coast, Sarah got her country music education at the Tocal Ag College in the Hunter Valley before heading to the Academy of Country Music in Tamworth in 2016.

“It really is the best kind of introduction you can have to the country music industry in Australia,” she says.

“There’s lots of great mentors and industry leaders and different people that work within the industry that share their knowledge and it really gives you the opportunity to fully immerse yourself and create connections.”

Sarah describes her sound as a “Noughties throwback” to the 2000s country pop genre.

“I’m a big Michelle Branch fan and people have described me as a country Missy Higgins, which is a massive compliment,” she says.

“I just have a real passion for honest songwriting.”

Sarah will travel across three states and the ACT in the coming weeks as she launches her new single, Girl Next Door, and will perform an intimate set of her own material.

It’s been a cautious restart for the live music industry this year, but Sarah is proud to be performing her own songs.

“But I think COVID was actually positive for me in a way because I got to step back and evaluate what I wanted to do,” she says.

“I have traditionally done cover gigs at pubs and stuff like that, so this tour is really the start of me going out on my own original touring journey.”

Sarah will perform on Friday night at The Curious Rabbit, with local musician Courtney Barron opening the show, and she says she’s excited to be on the road and sharing her stories and songs.

“There’s a song in the set that’s pretty hard to play live, so I hope I get through it,” she says.

“As a songwriter, it’s just such a privilege to be able to do that for a living.”