It’s not often you find a young artist championing the folk genre, but Ezmay Grace is, and she’s taking Cornwall’s stories along with her. Her ethereal vocals and storytelling style have been quietly captivating audiences online and across the south west, and last year saw the launch of her debut album Lien Gwerin (meaning folk tales in Cornish) and stints on BBC Introducing. With listeners now tuning in across the globe, she’s only just warming up.
It should come as no surprise. Ezmay has been playing the piano by ear since she was six, singing and playing guitar since she was nine, and honing her craft in live settings since studying music at Falmouth University a decade ago. Her vocal control is effortless, as is her ability to blend folk with a more contemporary sound. She’s quietly headstrong and confident in her talent, but humble, grounded, and down to earth.
So, where did it all start? ‘I was nine and living in Devon when I first started singing lessons with a lady called Rosa Rebecca,’ Ezmay remembers. ‘She’s the root of everything I am as a musician today. She was super inspiring and lit that fire in me, and introduced me to folk artists such as Joni Mitchell, Joan Baez and Bob Dylan.’ For a nine-year-old, it was an unusual musical education, but one that stuck. ‘I think a huge part of being a musician is finding that person or moment that feeds your love,’ she continues. ‘She was mine.’
Ezmay moved to Bude in her teens and, although she’s quick to say she can’t technically call herself Cornish, she’s proud to be adopted into the county she calls home. ‘I’ve been here ever since and I’m 29 now, so it obviously suited me,’ she smiles. ‘I feel really connected to Cornwall and the stories here – it’s magical and beautiful, and that hugely inspires me and my material.’
It fed her unique commitment as an artist to folk music, and championing the genre to the younger generation is something she’s passionate about. Today, Ezmay divides her time between songwriting and performing, alongside her job as a vocal coach, running choirs and workshops. ‘I want to spread the love for it,’ she says. ‘That’s part of folk music for me – people used to sing together more as communities, so this year I’ll be running more workshops for people to experience the magic of singing together.’
Despite coming from a non-musical family, Ezmay credits her mum with encouraging her to pursue her dreams of being a musician. ‘I started gigging while at Falmouth and then would come home to Bude and gig there,’ she explains. ‘I became aware of this amazing creative scene and loved it, but I still ended up as a teaching assistant after university. It was my mum who really encouraged me to go for it and to commit. It feels risky, but you have to ignore that.’
Although she’s questioned her path at times, Ezmay feels following the folk genre was inevitable. ‘It was folk for me from day one,’ she smiles. ‘I’m really interested in history, and I love that you can still deliver people’s stories hundreds of years later. That holds so much power for me. It’s music that has been passed down through generations, but with this extra magic – an escape from the modern world.’
Last summer saw the release of her debut album, something that was two years in the making. ‘I was surprised to sell out the album launch and I couldn’t believe people cared,’ she beams. ‘I was nervous about how it would be received, given it was fairly traditional folk written by myself, but I managed to spread my music across the world, and it’s had more than 35,000 streams. It’s special to know that your baby is out in the world and that other people like it.’
Much of the album draws inspiration from folklore, books, and the local landscape. ‘One of the songs on the album, Joan, is about a woman that was buried up at Boscastle,’ she tells me. ‘She had an interesting life and a sad story, so I wanted to write a song for her. I think I process things through songwriting, and I like that you can eternalise stories and memories.’
Ezmay is a self-proclaimed outdoor obsessive, and Cornwall’s wilderness shapes her work. ‘I spend a lot of time walking the coast path or on the moors,’ says Ezmay. ‘I love Brown Willy, Rough Tor and looking out to sea across Bodmin Moor. I love the history of Cornwall, like the smugglers, which I think is my next song! The north coast around Bude and heading up toward Hartland feels special to me, there’s a lot of woodland, so you’re fully immersed in both green and blue nature. I love the history of the Boscastle-Tintagel stretch, too, that’s really inspirational to me.’
Last year also saw Ezmay picked up by BBC Introducing, something she tells me was both validating and special. ‘Dan Pascoe, who’s in charge in the south west, is so invested in the music being released in this county, which is exactly what we need,’ she tells me. ‘He’s in tune with what’s happening in the music scene and really nurtures that.’ One of those artists is Kitty Crocker, a former student of Ezmay’s, who made her debut at Boardmasters after being championed by Dan. ‘I’m kind of obsessed with it,’ laughs Ezmay, as we chat about how it feels to watch someone she taught do so well. ‘I love watching her as both a friend and a former singing teacher – I’m so proud of her.’
It’s that sense of mutual support from within a creative scene that sets Cornwall apart for Ezmay. ‘Even if you pop over to Exeter, a big city, it’s got nothing on Bude or Falmouth,’ she says. ‘Everyone is so keen to see each other do well, there’s a real community feel. Places like Redruth are really nurturing creativity and the arts – playing at the Buttermarket is lovely.’
This is the year that Ezmay ventures outside of the south west, though, and takes Cornwall’s stories across the Irish Sea, where she’ll be playing her first tour in the home of traditional folk music. ‘The tour in Ireland will be celebrating my 30th, and I’ve got a lot of festivals this year like Kernowfornia and the Dartmoor Folk Festival. I’m busier than I’ve ever been,’ beams Ezmay. ‘I’ve started the cogs turning on a second album and there’ll be a couple of single releases this year, too.’.
ezmaygracemusic.co.uk
