Bridgetown artist to play in Fairbridge Festival and release sixth album in May

A Bridgetown-born artist is preparing to play at the Fairbridge Festival and release her new album, all while getting settled back in WA after a career stint overseas. WA country-folk singer-songwriter Emily Barker will be performing at the Fairbridge Festival from April 5 to 7. The festival is being held at Edenvale Heritage Precinct in Pinjarra for the first time this year. Barker said she was excited to be playing as a headliner after returning from the UK. “It is my first time playing at the festival,” she said. “The festival director contacted me and asked me if I wanted to be one of the headliners for the festival, which was pretty amazing.” The festival — which started in 1992 — will feature a line-up of local, regional and international artists spanning various genres and celebrates musicians in the folk, roots and world music genres. Barker has spent more than two decades in the UK, saying she initially went over as a backpacker before making her mark as a singer-songwriter. “I started doing open mic nights and one thing lead to another,” she said. “I was offered a recording deal, festival shows and built my career as a singer-songwriter and had an opportunity for one of my songs to be the theme for a crime show called Wallander. “It was the jumping off point for my career and I was able to go full-time into music and give up my waitressing job.” Despite finding success overseas, she has recently moved back to WA and is currently living in Spearwood. “I’ve lived in the UK for the last 21 years and I’ve just moved back to Australia in the last year,” she said. “During the pandemic, I wanted to be closer to home and closer to family. “It’s very different in terms of music and opportunities, as there’s fewer opportunities but only because there’s not as many people or places. “But there’s a great music scene here and I’m just loving being back here and the lifestyle and creating works for TV, film and ads.” Barker said she was still a WA country girl at heart after growing up in the South West with her family in Bridgetown. “I’m a Bridgy girl and my family still lives in Bridgetown — Don and Ingrid Barker — and my youngest brother is still there with all his family, so I go down there quite often,” she said. “I love it down there still and go down every few weeks. “I love seeing my family down there and the Blackwood River, and being out of the city. “It’s the sense of space and quiet that I love about the region.” Her newest album, Fragile as Humans, will be coming out on May 3, with Bridgetown’s Karma Llama Records selling the album once it releases. “I’m going to the US on my tour and play South by Southwest in Austin, Texas and Nashville, and when my new album comes out in May I’ll be touring the UK then,” Barker said. “I’m still touring nationally and internationally, but I’m just enjoying being back in Western Australia and back with family.”