Becoming a musician and singer/songwriter has been a rite of passage for young artist Ashleigh Dallas. Granddaughter of renowned country music icon Rex Dallas, Ash’s earliest memories were of singing with her Dad and going to her grandfather’s performances around her hometown of Tamworth NSW.

“I was two and a half when I had my very first music lesson. I would sing with my Dad at home and started playing the fiddle when I was six”, says Ash. “Obviously having a very musical family has been an awesome environment to have grown up around. It has given me a lot of learning experiences with music that I am very grateful for.”

Ash credits her Dad, Brett, and big brother Lindsay, former bassist with Tamworth band ‘Chasing Bailey’, as her first musical influences as they both inspired her to work hard at her playing and songwriting.

“Dad would sit me down and play old records to learn the fiddle and taught me to play by ear and ‘improvise’ I thought I had the coolest Dad in the world, and in my eyes, the best guitarist! All I wanted to do when I got older is what he was doing. It made me want to practice harder!”

Ash’s big break came when she was approached by Kasey Chambers to come on the road with her and play fiddle in her band. This was the start of a strong musical friendship that has seen Ash travel to the US to play in Kasey’s band, become the support for shows here and overseas and now joins Kasey on the road as an artist in her own right.

“Dad encouraged me to play a variety of instruments so I could be part of a band as well as doing my own thing. I remember when I first saw Alison Krauss. To see a lady who writes her own songs and also plays fiddle- it really connected with me and gave me the drive to be a chick that could front a band but also be a part of the band. I used to sit and play along to her CD’s.”

Now Ash is about to embark on her own musical journey with a collection of songs she recorded with respected Australian producer Matt Fell and co-produced with Kasey Chambers, at the Foggy Mountain Studios. This musical insight to Ash Dallas reflects her traditional music roots as well as the vibrant, bubbly young artist who is ready to make her way in the world.

“Slim Dusty, Ricky Skaggs, The Carter Family and Merle is music familiar to me but when I was a teenager Buddy Miller and Steve Earle started to really influence my songwriting. But you can find me listening to everything from Patty Griffin, Ed Sheeran, Passenger or singing ABBA with mum!”

Just like her musical influences, the new album features an eclectic selection of co-writes with highly respected artists such as folk/pop outfit Busby Marou, country legend Bill Chambers, her Dad Brett and young singer/songwriter, Kelly Menhennet, whom Ash met at the Country Music Academy.

“There’s lots of different stories when you look at all the songs. Carry Me is a song I wrote especially for my parents and thinking back on my childhood. I would go along to The Pub in Tamworth and watch my Dad and family play music, and in the car ride home would pretend to be asleep just so my Dad would carry me inside, and no matter what happened in life or still happens now I know my parents will help me through it.

“One of my favourite songs is the one I wrote with Tom Busby (Busby Marou). I took my little Holden Astra all the way up to Brisbane on a road trip with my guitar in the boot, and sat on the deck at Tom's house and we wrote the song Nothing at All. It was such an awesome moment for me to be able to write with an artist that I love. It is a fun song that I guess sums up the circle of relationships. When it's the right person you will stop at nothing to make it work even if sometimes you go over and over the same things. It was a goose bump moment for me when I had the guys come down to the Foggy Mountain Studios and play on the track for the record!”

Writing for the album was both easy and hard.

“Songs normally just come to me, especially when I am travelling and experiencing new things. It brings up emotions that make me just want to put into a song. I found when I was writing for the record I went through stages. Sometimes it was really easy like when I was driving home from gigs and I would have ideas just pop into my head and sometimes it was a bit harder and I over thought things.

“One song on the record Devils Flame, I wrote while I was working a morning shift at Tamworth’s local Boost Juice. Normally I sit down with my guitar or fiddle and write my songs not to a blender while making a few fruit smoothies, but looking back now I think it’s really cool.”

Listen to Ashleigh's new single "Me" [MP3]http://itscountry.com.au/music/Ashleigh Dallas - 01 - Me.mp3 [/MP3]