A full-circle folk journey

One Baldivis musician has come full circle since starting as a young boy busking on the streets of Nannup to being named the music festival’s emerging artist nine years later.

For 18-year-old Jake Hatch learning to play guitar never felt like practising but just fun, with the folk-pop singer finding his feet in the music world after being accepted to play at the iconic South West festival.

“When I was seven years old, my brother and sister were playing piano and singing, my great grandparents bought me a guitar and it all started from there,” he said.

“I do a lot of Sunday sessions, open mic nights — pretty much everywhere and anywhere.

“It’s a good positive outlet and a really rewarding career. It’s about the actual music itself and having the opportunity to do it.”

Hatch won the crowd vote for the emerging artist award, which includes 10 hours of recording time with Crank Recording which he hopes to use for an EP in the next couple of months.

“I’m not a fan of competition because I don’t like the thinking that some art is better than others because it’s all subjective, but I’m very grateful for winning it, it was really cool and it feels really nice to be acknowledged,” he said.

“I apply for everything and try and get out as much as I can, but this is the first big music festival that I’ve gone to.

“I used to go and watch the festival and back in the day I would busk on the streets, so it was really nice to come back going from busking as a little kid to actually being on stage where everyone is actually looking at you.”

Hatch hopes to play at the Nanga Music Festival in October and has gigs coming up in Fremantle.