Southland musician Jenny Mitchell has been selected as one of 10 recipients of ‘The Independent NZ Artist Fund’, a collaborative grant set up by NZ On Air and Spotify Australia NZ, to give independent local artists the opportunity to build a home recording set-up and create new music from home.

Each artist selected will receive $2000, to put towards any music equipment of their choice.

We spoke to Jenny Mitchell on Friday evening, after she’d just found out the good news and was fresh from playing a few local gigs in Dunedin.

"It's been great doing gigs again. I usually play there on Fridays... my first gig back [in Level One] was at a bar in Gore called The Thomas Green. It was actually the first place I played at when was 13."

[My sister and I] played there in Level Three so people had to be seated," but she said it was great to back and having local hospitality businesses and artists supporting each other. 

With more than 500 applicants for the grant, Miss Mitchell said she was over the moon to find out she'd been selected, saying this money would help her immensely by giving her the freedom to record new music from home "in a post-COVID world".

"I got a wee bit teary it was such a surprise... the whole idea [for the grant] was a response to COVID. For musicians, it has been really scary not knowing when you can tour again."

"Now I can buy a new mic, which I've been eyeing up for a while... I’ll record songs at home and then send them off to my producer in Sydney."

She said it was surreal to have been a musician in a time of international travel bans and national lockdowns, but being able to work remotely, stay connected with her producer and audience in a digital age and now receive this grant had "been a blessing".

"It's also motivating to be able to get some new music out," she said. 

It's no doubt COVID-19 has had a significant impact on the New Zealand music industry, with many artists relying heavily on income from gigs and events, to have them all cancelled in lockdown was a heavy blow. 

But Jenny, in true Southland can-do spirit, took the lockdown as an opportunity to get razor clear on her goals and dreams for 2020. 

"It has really made me look at what we have got here and focus on NZ... I did have plans to go to Canada and America. I almost felt like I was grieving these dreams that I've had for years and when it's not an option anymore I found it quite shocking."

But now she's excited to start planning her second New Zealand tour, which she hopes to do around September this year. 

She said she wants to include a mix of larger concerts as well as intimate home performances. 

"It's exactly like a seated concert but it's in someone's lounge," she said.

“It's really community-focused, it directly supports the artist and it's very intimate, you're less than a metre from the artist and you can see their faces. I get a lot more out of the smaller shows, I did a few last year and they were probably a few of the favourite shows to do... there's just something really unique for the artist and the audience."

Lockdown also gave her the downtime to work on new songs as well as new merchandise, which she says she's keeping as a surprise until the merchandise launches this Wednesday on her site. 

She said she also has [another] top-secret project which she's working on this year... "but all I can say is it involves my little sisters..." she said. 

In April, she also released a new music video for her single 'Travelling Bones' which she filmed around Dunedin just three days before the lockdown began. 

On top of everything she's been doing for her music career, she's also just finished her bachelor’s degree in Marketing and Communications at Otago University, having her final exam on Wednesday. 

She said she’s loved learning all about marketing, communications, and PR so she can become an all-rounded, self-sufficient artist in the industry

"Being a musician is more than just being able to play music," she said. 

"I wanted to get skilled and be able to support myself with publicity... I really love that whole world of PR and have really loved learning about how to use it [for my career]. 

Now she's officially a University graduate, being selected for the grant couldn't have come at a better time as she plans to focus all her time and energy on her music. 

As well as making new music and doing as many gigs as possible, she also wants to explore more of her other passion – music tutoring. 

"I also work as a song writing and performance tutor in schools in Otago. I go into music classes in schools to help out with song writing and performance."

"I'm keen to get into Southland schools, I think they may get a little left out, so I want to work with music teachers and craft a [music] programme." 

You can find more about what Jenny's up to by following her on social media and also on her website: https://www.jennymitchell.co.nz/.