AFTER months of hard work, 17-year-old Logan songstress Briana Dinsdale is ready to release her debut album to the world.
The Canterbury College student released her first single on January 6, followed shortly after by her first album, beginnings.
She is set to stage an album release concert on Saturday.
Her first single, Ball and Chain, reached number 20 on the Country Songs Top 40 Australian Airplay chart last week.
"Ball and Chain was written at the end of 2019 inspired by modern country acts Cam and Maren Morris," she said. "I wanted to write a song about letting go of things that are holding you down in life and pushing forward and moving on."
Briana, a member of the Redlands Modern Country Music Club, said the album had been in the making since she returned from the Tamworth Country Music Festival in January 2020.
"I decided I wanted to record and was considering doing an EP," she said.
She applied for a Regional Arts Development Fund grant from Logan City Council, and was announced as a winner in late May.
"Most of the songs were already written, a few needed finalising and I also did a couple of co-writes to add to the album with (Australian country artists) Casey Barnes and Bill Chambers during COVID," she said.
The album was recorded at Browns Plains studio Wheatley Street productions, owned by renowned producer Louise Wheatley.
Wheatley has worked with prominent Australian artists like The Veronicas, The Angels and Guy Sebastian.
"We worked afternoons after school, weekends and school holidays to record all 12 tracks," Briana said.
"I loved every minute of it. Louise was so wonderful to work with."
No stranger to the Queensland country music scene, Briana has been writing music since age 10.
At 15, she was named the 2019 Capital Country Music Association National Junior Songwriter of the Year, winning the competition with her song Help Me Meet the Lord.
"I got started in music at a very young age (and) my parents had me taking piano lessons at the age of 4," she said.
"I now play piano and guitar plus sing and I also am in the choir and rock band at school."
Briana said of the 12 songs on her album, the final track, called Wildflowers, was extra special to her.
"It was more difficult to write because it was so honest," she said.
"It is also a song I think many people can relate to."
Briana's album launch will be held on February 6 from 6pm at Kimberley Park Centre, Shailer Park.
Buy tickets at brianadinsdale.com/shows
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