[Mild language warning]

In this new interview, Toowoomba-raised country-blues artist Sue Ray tells me that, ‘like a bad country song’, she moved back to the Queensland city to have her children. But it’s also where she formed as an artist, as a member of the Toowoomba Country Music Club along with Duncan Toombs and Lyn Bowtell, and as the child of a rock ’n’ roll father (about whom she shares a wild story – no, I’m not going to tell you what it is!).

Before we talked about Ray’s own music, we covered live music and why it’s so wonderful – that’s because these interviews are conversations, so I don’t stick strictly to the questions I’ve prepared and if an artist mentions something that is interesting to pursue, I’ll do that.

Ray started playing guitar relatively late but she was writing well before that; ‘songs come to me constantly,’ she says, and she has over 11 000 voice memos on her phone to draw from for her songs, which have appeared on two studio albums and one live album. Her latest single, ‘Before the Rain’, is the title track from her forthcoming album.

Ray is an artist I’ve been aware of for quite a while, impressed by her voice and her songwriting, but this is the first time I’ve had a chance to interview her, and as you can tell by the length of it (almost 40 minutes), there was a lot to chat about and all of it was so interesting! She talks with insight about the ups and downs of artistry – including tall poppy syndrome – and how she has learned to make full use of her voice and talents, as well as about her time living in Nashville.

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