I've always loved singing. I've always loved writing stories, which mostly become songs. And I've always loved that slightly magical thing that happens when I share those songs with other people. There's something pretty amazing about taking something completely private – a thought, a feeling, an experience – and putting it out into the world, only to discover that it lands with other people and becomes theirs, too.

And somewhere in that exchange, something shifts for me as well. I realise that the things I feel and wonder about and struggle with aren't mine alone. When someone tells me my song made them laugh, or helped them make sense of something they've been feeling, or reminded them that they're not the only one, it reminds me that my story is not mine alone. It's our story. Just like that, we're connected in our glorious, messy humanness.

So why am I telling you all this? Well, because I used to do this a lot. And then I stopped. And I've realised recently how much I've been missing that magic.

I released my first EP in 2012, followed by a little live-in-studio acoustic EP in 2013. I spent those years gigging, touring and throwing myself into music. Somewhere along the way, I got so caught up in all the noise around the music – the website, the socials, the press releases, the bookings, the promotion, the trying to make something happen – that the music itself got quieter and quieter, until it was almost lost. I started to feel like I’d lost my love for it, so I stepped away and did other things, figuring I might come back to music in a few years. Well, somehow almost 15 years went by – oops!

But I realised something important: music isn't just something I do (or don’t do). It's a huge part of who I am. I can apparently spend a very long time not “doing” it, but I can't seem to stop loving it.

As I started reconnecting with all the things I love about music – not the noise around it, but the music itself, the connection, the joy – I suddenly had this sense that I needed to come back. I told a beautiful friend and fellow singer-songwriter this, and she lovingly said to me, “You never really left.” I think she was right.

I recently recorded my song Home (more on that here). I wrote it about the strange feeling of not quite knowing where home is. As I was making it, I was also finding my way back to music. Then, while putting together my first set list in years and thinking about standing on stage again, I suddenly realised that this – the writing, the performing, the connection – felt like coming home. Honestly, couldn't have planned that if I tried!

So, I'm getting back into writing, recording, and playing live, and I'm really excited to see what happens when I give this part of myself some space again. And, of course, to see whether I can get through a gig without telling too many awkward stories between songs. Okay, yeah, let’s be honest – no promises on that last one!

Whatever happens, I’m sure it’ll be a fun journey. Who’s coming with me?! x

Next Stop - Brunswick Artists' Bar, Saturday November 21st