Hannah Trigwell: From Busker To YouTube Star And Beyond
Wednesday, 15 January 2014
Written by Katie Territt
If the saying is true and the stats don’t lie, then Hannah Trigwell is going to be a pretty big deal in the next couple of years.
The former busker’s YouTube account is a hit machine, while she’s received online backing from Louis Tomlinson, of One Direction, and an Artist Of The Week nod from US presenter Ryan Seacrest following a couple of EP releases of original material.
Having signed to Boyce Avenue’s 3 Peace Records, she is preparing to release a new single, Hurricane, in February and gearing up for her very own headline tour, which gets underway in Birmingham on January 15. It seems that exciting times are ahead for Trigwell, and we recently caught up with her to discuss her rise and plans for the future.
You started your career posting videos of live cover versions on YouTube. Did you ever think that’d get the sort of reaction you have had, particularly over two million views of your Hallelujah cover?
I hoped that the videos would go down well and that people would like my covers enough to check out my original music, but I was not expecting a video of mine to have over a million views, that’s such a crazy number of hits. The Hallelujah cover means a lot to me, it was the first video that had an incredibly positive response over such a short period of time, and encouraged me to upload more and more covers and original music videos on YouTube.
Back in 2011, you were named the Best International Unsigned Act at the Online Music Awards. How did it feel picking up that honour at that point in your career? Did it feel like a boost to keep pushing yourself?
Receiving that award was definitely a boost to keep pushing myself. At that point I was in my first year of University and struggling to juggle music with studying; I needed that encouragement to keep following my dream. I was up against some big acts so it was a real honour to have won the title. That was all down to my fans supporting me online by sharing my music.
You’ve had support through Twitter from some huge names in the industry. Is something like that important to you or does it mean more to receive praise from fans outside of the music industry?
It means a lot to receive praise from musicians that I admire, but it’s very important to hear what fans have to say who aren’t musicians and make those instant decisions of yes or no as to whether they like a song or an artist. A lot of constructive criticism comes from that, and I’m always wanting to progress and develop as a songwriter so for me it’s important to listen to that and take notice of what everyone has to say, rather than just successful musicians.
Obviously some of your biggest supporters have been Boyce Avenue. How did your support slots with them come about?
I was uploading covers of my favourite songs onto YouTube for a couple of years while I was busking on the streets of Leeds, and one day my manager received an email from the bass/cajon player Daniel, who had seen my version of Teenage Dream by Katy Perry and wanted me to support them on their UK tour. I couldn’t believe it. That was such an amazing experience. They were, and still are, one of my favourite bands so it was quite surreal.
You played some great venues on the Boyce Avenue tours. Was it daunting playing in venues of that size?
The first couple of times I played large venues with Boyce Avenue I found it quite nerve-wracking, but very exciting. Playing an iconic venue is an amazing thing, the memories stay with you for a long time. I usually feel the nerves just before I’m onstage but then when I start to perform they vanish because I feel confident in what I’m doing. I love performing at live shows, but I would say that it tends to be the more intimate ones that are more daunting because everything is up close and personal. It almost feels like there’s more pressure to perform well to less people.
You’ve now signed to 3 Peace Records, a label founded by Boyce Avenue. Did your bond with the band make the decision to sign to them so much easier?
I think signing a deal like that with anyone isn’t an easy decision. We are great friends, we know each other very well, but that kind of made it harder. I wasn’t used to doing business with them, we were all just having a great time playing together and hanging out, so the decision was still very much thought through. I have a lot of faith and trust in them, and because they are musicians themselves they can help with aspects that a lot of labels can’t, that’s the great thing about working with them.
Your first single of 2014 is Hurricane. Can you tell us a bit about the song?
You can hear a lot of my influences in this song, from Ellie Goulding to Craig David, and lyrically there are a lot of references to weather and anatomy, which comes from my interest in biology. Hurricane is a song about being swept off your feet by someone who you have just met, an instant attraction to a stranger - like being hit by a hurricane, things will never be the same. I can’t wait to start work on the music video for this track.
Is Hurricane a good indication of what we can expect from your future work?
My next release will be in March - an as yet untitled EP which will include Hurricane and tracks with a similar vibe. I have been experimenting a lot with my sound and am really excited to share the outcome with everyone that follows my music. There are still acoustic elements in there, but it is a more developed sound than music that I have previously released.
Alongside your single release, you’re also about to hit the road on your own headline tour. How are you feeling about it? Will it be a mixture of original music and your well loved covers?
I’m so excited. Nervous as well, but I can’t wait to play my own headline tour, it’s been a dream of mine for a long time. There will be a couple of my most popular covers in there, my already released original music, along with new music that I’ve been dying to share. The people coming to the gigs will be the first to hear these new tunes, so I’m looking forward to getting some feedback on them!
Your career so far hasn’t exactly taken a traditional route. Are you glad you’ve built up your fan-base your own way and had the opportunity to do what you wanted to do?
I have certainly carved my own path in this industry but I am lucky to have the opportunity to build such a loyal worldwide fan-base in the way that I am doing. I still have room to grow and I’m interested to see how the music will change with that. But I know that as long as I go with my gut and release music that is true to who I am as an artist, my fanbase will respond to that.
Do you have any exciting plans in the pipeline past the single and tour? Any dream ambitions you’d like to achieve in your career?
I’ll be working on the music video for Hurricane which I’m really excited about, because the visual part of releasing a single is just another excuse to be creative. After that, the EP will be released and I will be writing, recording and touring again. Doing an arena tour would be absolutely insane, so that’s a huge goal to work towards, but you’ve got to aim high, right?
Wed January 15 2014 - BIRMINGHAM O2 Academy Birmingham
Thu January 16 2014 - LONDON Borderline
Fri January 17 2014 - MANCHESTER Deaf Institute
Sat January 18 2014 - LEEDS Cockpit
Sun January 19 2014 - GLASGOW King Tuts Wah Wah Hut
We don't run any advertising! Our editorial content is solely funded by lovely people like yourself using Stereoboard's listings when buying tickets for live events. To keep supporting us, next time you're looking for concert, festival, sport or theatre tickets, please search for "Stereoboard". It costs you nothing, you may find a better price than the usual outlets, and save yourself from waiting in an endless queue on Friday mornings as we list ALL available sellers!
