When you spend over a decade tearing up stages and trading harmonies with family, stepping out under your own name is a huge moment. Sarah Grace Buckley has earned her stripes on the road with The Buckleys, but hearing her debut solo single Tequila & Mexico sounds like an artist taking charge and calling her own shots. It is a track that bridges the gap between where she has been and where she is heading.
When asked about having a bunch of finished tunes ready to go and what made Tequila & Mexico the one track she was willing to release first, Sarah admitted the choice didn't come easy.
"It was a really hard to decide on what song would lead my solo project as the first single, as I do have so many songs that I have written in my catalogue and new ones in particular that I am so excited to share. We landed on Tequila & Mexico because it felt like a perfect segway from The Buckleys to Sarah Grace Buckley sonically, and I also thought it was nice to lead with a song that I have had for the past couple of years and had originally written for The Buckleys, as it feels like bringing a piece of that time and era with me into my solo project, as opposed to a complete separation, if that makes sense? It's also just a song that I have loved all these years and other people who I had played it to continued to mention it to me, like 'When are you going to release that one?'... it's one of those that just kept coming back up and now seems like the perfect time to give it its moment. I always think songs eventually find their home and you don't always know when that's going to be."
Sarah Grace Buckley is no stranger to writing top-10 hits, both for her own projects and for other artists. But taking a trip to Nashville to co-write with big names like Troy Verges and Matt McVaney brings a very different rhythm compared to writing sessions back home.
"Writing in Nashville is a completely different experience as you go there and you're doing a lot of sessions all day every day which is a much more intensive environment than Australia as the industry is so spread out geographically. I absolutely love the energy of Nashville and I really value getting to spend time going between those two environments. Having the opportunity to write with Troy and Matt was such an incredible honour - they are such legends and so talented, and I think we came up with something pretty great together!"
If you listen closely to the vocal delivery on the track, there is an interesting variation in the phrasing, holding onto rounded Aussie vowels on certain lines while leaning into a Nashville accent on others. We asked Sarah if she consciously decided to sound more Sydney than Tennessee, Sarah laughed it off.
"Haha, that is so nice to hear but I actually don't do it intentionally at all! I kind of just sing and whatever happens, happens. I am going to go listen back now to hear where my Aussie vowels are more pronounced! I love that."
After spending more than ten years touring alongside her siblings, taking the leap to step out as a solo act requires a change in mindset. Crafting music under her own name forces a fresh approach.
"Creatively, I really just wanted to dive deeper into the sounds and stories that I feel are really truly me, and I knew that if I didn't do that now I probably would never do it! Writing for a band or for another artist is a different experience because you are thinking of telling the story in a way that will represent and work for multiple people or for the artist you're writing for. And that doesn't mean it's not authentic or 'you' - even if I'm writing something for an artist and it's an experience I've never had before, you absolutely still connect with those emotions and find other experiences within your own life that evoke a similar feeling or memory - but I think I'm at the point now in my life where I feel I really do have stories that I want to share more directly and experiences that are more personal and that wouldn't really work for another person to sing (and it doesn't quite feel right letting them go!). Musically as well, it also gives me the freedom to go to some unique places and test new waters which I'm excited to do!"
We asked Sarah Grace Buckley if there was one tiny production detail in the track that she fought to keep in and that most people will miss on the first listen.
"I think pedal steel in this song is soooo good. It's not something I would say I had to fight to keep in at all as everyone loves it but I did ask Matt to crank it in the mix haha."
That studio energy is now heading straight for the stage. As she prepares for the co-headlining Girls Night Out show at the Tamworth Country Music Festival, leading her own backing band is a brand-new game compared to the well-oiled machine of touring with family.
"It is a totally different experience - it is so much fun playing with my siblings on stage, we have the best time and I was a bit nervous and nostalgic with the idea of not having them on stage by my side for my own solo shows. It was really important to me to create that kind of tight-knit, family-like dynamic in my own band with people I know and trust, and I am just so lucky that some of my good friends happen to be some of the best musicians in Australia! It is also an entirely fresh canvas as these songs are completely new and have never been played live before, as opposed to The Buckleys where like you say, it's a very well-oiled machine and we have been playing some of our songs for years. Hearing my band bring my new songs to life is such an incredible experience and I feel so lucky."
With Tequila & Mexico the bookmark for this new chapter, fans are naturally looking ahead to what comes next for Sarah Grace Buckley.
"There are going to be a few different flavours and different sides to me that you are going to hear. Sides that you haven't yet experienced with The Buckleys. We are definitely going to get deep and we're going to get personal! I am currently writing a full-length album and collecting stories all at the same time. I want this project to be real, and true and very representative of where I am at in life at the moment."
To close out, we asked Sarah if she had to pour a glass to sum up these two distinct chapters of her career, one drink to represent her decade with The Buckleys and one for the new solo era, what would they be?
"Great question! Even though my first solo track is 'Tequila & Mexico", I would say... Margarita for The Buckleys. It's fun and raucous, but also in a way wholesome - who doesn't get a margarita on vacation with the family?? For 'Sarah Grace Buckley' - I'm going to say a Lychee (or other fruity flavoured) martini. Martini's are a drink I think you have conversations over, they have a maturity and sophistication to them, but you have to add in something fun like the lychee flavour because life can't be too serious and you always have to remember to have fun!"
SoundVerge Editorial
Independent music journalism
