Georgia Scarlett and Joel Spence are two Queensland country artists who have been releasing solo music independently for several years, and who have now found a creative partnership that has produced two singles which have taken them in a musical direction that is distinct from their own music while preserving their musical identities.
The first single is ‘The Wise Folks Say’, which was the reason for our recent interview. The second, released after this interview was recorded, is ‘Honey Let’s Go’.
Their story begins at the Song Muster in Gympie, which has now generated several outstanding songs and songwriting partnerships that bring established and emerging songwriters together. Scarlett and Spence were placed in the same writing group and produced ‘The Wise Folks Say’ in a single session.
‘This spark just connected instantly once we started talking our experiences, our journeys through life, some of the wisdom that’s been passed down to us,’ says Scarlett. ‘Every verse is a different life lesson. It has that old-fashioned country wisdom that I really love.’
The duo brought the song to producer Kelsey Berrington. The result is a song in which the duo’s voices are given the space to meld and separate as needed, revealing the way they balance and complement each other.
Spence grew up in the Lockyer Valley, west of Brisbane, on a cattle and grain property. He has been writing and recording since his teens, and also has an academic interest in the power of music, conducting research into how community-led songwriting and performance can foster healing, cultural justice, and empowerment for First Nations Peoples in remote communities.
Scarlett is originally from Bundaberg and grew up learning piano but found that she was better suited to clarinet, and has since added guitar and harmonica to her repertoire. She released her debut solo album, Rhythm of Life, last year.
Scarlett and Spence’s collaboration on ‘The Wise Folks Say’ worked so well that they have now released a second single together, ‘Honey Let’s Go’.
Listen to ‘The Wise Folks Say’ on Apple Music
Listen to ‘The Wise Folks Say’ on Spotify
Listen to ‘The Wise Folks Say’ on YouTube
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