Lachlan Neville hoping to make his mark as emerging artist
Opening for JJ Voss
January 16, 2023, 1:36 pm
Kara Kinna
Local musician Lachlan Neville may only be 17, but as he finishes out his Grade 12 high school year in Rocanville, he has big dreams of going full-time into music after he graduates, and becoming a touring singer-songwriter like many of the musicians he idolizes.
Neville has spent the last few years making his mark locally, performing at events around the Rocanville and Moosomin area, and at Cork & Bone Bistro in Moosomin, where he is a regular at the special music nights at the restaurant.
Neville will be opening for JJ Voss when he performs in Moosomin on February 4—a first for the young artist, who has never opened for another act before.
Neville says he started into music at a young age, but it has been the last few years that he has gone public with his music, performing both his own material and cover songs.
“I’ve been playing mostly for myself since I was really little, but over the last couple of years I’ve really started to share what I’ve been working on,” he says. “I’ve always had an ear for music. I write songs and perform them.
“Mostly it’s just me and my guitar right now, so it’s kind of acoustic with a bit of a country tinge in there. It’s also keeping in the folk music tradition.
“I do write a lot of songs and sometimes I even write good ones,” he says with a laugh, “So I try to perform those and I do a bunch of covers too.”
Neville says after he graduates he wants to push his music even farther.
“I want to record music and I want to tour or meet people and do that whole thing,” he says. “I love it. It just brings me joy to play music and play for other people. I don’t even know how to describe it.”
Neville says he has had lot of influences.
“I guess first and foremost would be Bob Dylan,” he says. “I never really cared much about music until I started really paying attention to Bob Dylan—he’s the first person I listened to where I really paid attention to the lyrics and music. Then from there I just kind of went down all sorts of different musical rabbit holes. Some others are Bruce Springsteen, Jason Isbelle, and Tyler Childers. I like music where the writing is the centerpiece of it—more roots type of music.”
Over the last few years, Neville has been quite active locally with his live performances.
“I performed at Cork & Bone over the last year or so and it’s been a pretty good partnership,” he says. “I’ve performed at rodeos and events like that but mostly just local stuff. I’m just trying to get my music out there. I do plan to go further afield.”
He says he’s looking forward to opening for JJ Voss on February 4.
“I’m very grateful for the opportunity. It’s always good to meet new people and he seems like a really cool guy. It’s a great opportunity and I’m grateful for everyone who’s gotten me this far,” he says.
“It will be a pretty big crowd. I’m working on putting together a more concise set list. So it will be kind of a big deal.
“I hope they (the audience) likes the songs. I hope they think about the songs. I want them to think about it. I just hope that they can actually take something away from it.”
Where does Neville see himself five years from now?
“I just hope that I’m able to record the songs that I write and have people enjoy it and maybe make a little money from it too,” he says.
“I have a single out that’s on all the streaming platforms called ‘Icarus.’ I won a songwriting contest with this guy Steve Dawson. He’s a producer down in Nashville at the Henhouse Studio, so through him and some of his buddies I was able to put together a song which is available on all streaming platforms right now.”
Neville says locally, his music has been well received.
“I think it’s been mostly positive,” he says. “People are generally pretty receptive to it and it’s been good. I’ve been very supported by the music community and I’ve had a lot of people who have really been pushing me and guiding me into different musical lanes and challenging me—which is really good. So I’m very grateful for that and for all of those people.”
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