Kate Ferguson
Kate Ferguson is a singer-songwriter from Plymouth, who combines fingerstyle guitar with her unique soprano vocal range; resulting in an easy listening folk-pop inspired sound. On 17th July at The House in the University of Plymouth, she will be performing songs from her latest EP ‘The Liminal Lady’.
Gaining musical inspiration from strong, independent female vocalists such as Tracy Chapman and Joni Mitchell, Ferguson devoted herself to music from a young age. Her debut album ‘Sweet Confusion’ was successfully featured on BBC Introducing and BBC Radio Devon. Additionally, Ferguson has received songwriting commissions from local organisations such as The Box and Plymouth City Council. She is now considered to be a well-established musician in the city’s music scene, currently studying for a PhD in Music at the University of Plymouth. Made in Plymouth Community Reporter, Issy Herring, went to meet her.
Would you be able to tell me a little bit about your musical career so far?
My love of singing and songwriting has always been at the forefront of my life - I started off singing and playing guitar while I was in primary school and have always kept it up in one way or another since. When I was about 21, I decided to pursue music full time and began gigging and teaching singing. I experimented with my style and tried lots of different things, releasing my debut album ‘Sweet Confusion’ in 2017 and building on it from there. I’d say that my style has evolved into folk-pop now.
I've done songwriting commissions, as well as working at local venues and singing at weddings. A day in my life always looks different – I could be songwriting, gigging, lecturing, teaching singing, or writing up my thesis!
What initially inspired you to become a folk musician? Anyone, anything or anywhere in Plymouth in particular? Also, general influences would be great.
I started out going to folk sessions and open mics in Plymouth and around the area, for example the Dolphin. I found other musicians to be incredibly supportive! I’ve always been drawn to folk music, and I find it fascinating how the songs change over time, taking on the flavour of a particular place or time. My favourite local folk band is definitely Windjammer, but further afield I love Isobel Anderson, Cara Dillon and Aoife O’Donovan. My wider influences are artists like Joni Mitchell and Tracy Chapman. I absolutely love what female pop artists are doing at the moment as well and I think we’re in an exciting time for women in music.
What was it about Plymouth that made you want to study your PhD here?
I’m Plymouth born and bred, so Plymouth worked pretty well for me in terms of location! I love being near the sea and the moors, always being drawn back to both – I find that I need to be around nature to sustain me, and there is a lot of it in this area. I love my fellow musicians and artists in Plymouth, and I also had a good relationship already with the University staff and was excited to be working with supportive female supervisors on my PhD.
How do you find that music helps to escape from the trials and tribulations that modern life brings?
For me, music and songwriting is a way of making sense of a world that doesn’t always seem particularly straightforward. If you can organise your emotions and experiences into a song, then you’ve succeeded in understanding them a little bit. We’re always telling stories, whether to ourselves or to others, so we might as well be in charge of them!
How does it feel to be working with the Fearless Women's Workshop as part of the launch of 'The Liminal Lady' EP?
Working with the Fearless Women’s Songwriting Group has been amazing so far. They are a fantastic group of women from a range of backgrounds, which is what I think makes the most interesting music. Plymouth Music Collective are a great organisation that endeavour to make music accessible for everyone so it’s great that they’ve put on these workshops to begin with. I was so impressed with how quickly they put together songs in the workshops – it just goes to show the power of collaboration.
How important is it for female songwriters in the local area to get recognition for their work?
I think it’s important for women to be able to use music and songwriting to reclaim the narrative of their lives and experiences, as these narratives are so often written for us without our consent. As women we can get used to seeing ourselves through the eyes of others and through the lens of social expectation - songwriting can help us to disengage from that burden.
What primarily inspired the new EP?
‘The Liminal Lady’ is all about how imagination can heal. The title is borrowed from Brian Froud’s book ‘Good Faeries, Bad Faeries’, and has come to represent a character that I created daydreaming as a child. She helps you to re-write your story through magic and transformation, which are two themes that have come up a lot during my PhD research on feminist approaches to songwriting.
How do you feel to be working with the University of Plymouth for the launch?
Doing a practice-based PhD like this has made me think about my songwriting in a totally different way. You can figure out through research why you might be making certain choices as a songwriter, and you can also use my research to inform your songwriting, so it becomes a symbiotic relationship. Often there’s a strong link between what you know intuitively as a musician and what the research says, so it’s pretty cool to see those connections.
How important is the city of Plymouth to the music industry?
Over the past few years, I’ve really seen the landscape change. Sometimes Plymouth gets a bit of an unfair reputation as not having much of a music scene, but there are so many artists here that are really making things happen. Grace Lightman, Cat Rose and Jon Fazal, Joanna Cooke, Cestra the Portal, and that’s just to name a few, are all writing amazing music.
You don’t need to look very hard to find some amazing stuff!
What do you think is special about the place?
I think there’s nothing like a summer gig in Plymouth! Good weather, good food and good music make a perfect combo.
What do you hope to achieve through your musicianship?
I hope to make music that resonates with people and helps them to articulate what they’re going through. If just one person listens to my music and thinks ‘oh, I have this feeling too!’ then I think my job would be done!
What advice would you give to musicians starting out in the city?
I definitely need to take my own advice at the moment but get out to gigs! Write down what you find inspiring about each performer that you see, and also what doesn’t work so well so you can take that forward into your musicianship. Film everything that you play because venues love to see that you can play live and watch it back to see how you can improve. Open mics are also a great way to cut your teeth and get your name out there a little bit if you are a new performer. There are a lot of unpaid things going on, so just make sure that free opportunities work for you and be careful about how much you take on.
You’ll get lots of conflicting opinions and advice, so be careful not to tie yourself into knots trying to be everything for everyone and focus on developing your own style.
Also, remember that if things don’t seem to be happening at first, you can put shows on yourself!
What are your future endeavours?
After this performance, I have another album in the works, which I won’t say too much about yet, except that it’s based on some very well-loved fiction! I really can’t wait.
After my PhD, I want to continue working with women on songwriting, and so I’m taking what I’ve learned and putting that into workshops and courses. I think that spaces for female-identifying musicians are incredibly important, and I’ve gotten so much from them myself that I think it’s vital to keep the party going!
Make sure to keep up to date with Kate Ferguson’s latest musical endeavours via her Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/katefergusonmusic. Also, check her out on Spotify here.
To purchase a ticket for ‘The Liminal Lady’ performance, visit the Eventbrite website here.