Sydney University student Shelley Morton captivated the crowd at the Manning Bar with an hour-long performance of original songs and covers, marking a significant step in her musical career.
Having performed music from a young age, and as a drummer in various bands, Miss Morton is now stepping onto the stage as a solo artist, showcasing her talents on the guitar and keyboard.
“It was a bit nerve-racking, it’s always scary being the only person up on stage, especially considering I’m so used to being on drums,” Miss Morton said.
“But I think it went pretty well, I did my role which was background music.
“I developed a set list about a week ago that was comprised of 11 original songs and seven covers and kind of every second day at that point I practised.”
During the performance, Miss Morton had to improvise several times from her original setlist.
Yet, with years of band experience, she noted that adjustments are quite common.
“In a band, there’s a lot of improvisation based on how the crowd is reacting, how to make them react better, whether somethings not working in the song,” Miss Morton said.
“I played at the Manning Bar a few months ago and before that I played at Hermans, so definitely when I played at Hermans I wanted to upgrade to Manning because Hermans is quite a small venue and Manning is so much bigger.
“Definitely the first time I played at Manning it was a mini dream come true.”
Throughout Miss Morton’s musical journey, her father, Ian Morton, has witnessed her many musical milestones and unwavering determination to pursue her goals.
“All her life she’s performed, she used to do a thing called the ‘Shelley Show’ when she was about four years old and she would dance around and perform the ‘Shelley Show’,” Mr Morton said.
“She picked up a ukulele at six and started playing other people’s songs, and she pretty much played music right through her life and I think she’s amazing, though I may be a bit biased.”
After last week’s performance, Miss Morton is taking a break to focus on her studies, however, she has said that she is looking at performing gigs again with a new band in December.
