Ferguson ready to get personal

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This article was published 31/07/2017 (3173 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Julie Ferguson is ready to lay down her soul on the stage.

The 25-year-old emerging country artist from St. Norbert recently released her first single Lay Me Down and is preparing to play a set of original and cover songs at the St. Norbert Hotel on Aug. 3. The gig is just the second time the singer-songwriter will perform her original tunes publicly and said allowing people to take a look into her life through her music has been a new experience.

Lay Me Down, Ferguson explained, is about a failed relationship and the difficulty in finding closure while also craving an emotional connection to someone.

“There were things that I wished I would have done differently prior to the relationship ending, and the song reflects those moments for me,” she said. “That’s not something that I’d typically be able to express to that person or talk about.”

Because she’s been writing songs and poetry from a young age, Ferguson said her music has always exposed her vulnerabilities and has been kept close to her chest for that reason. It’s only within the past few years that she said she’s lost some of her fear of opening herself up.  

“When you write songs and you put them out there — the way I write, anyway, is very honest, it’s very raw, and it’s something that I went through, that I dealt with and put on paper — and all of sudden everybody is hearing it,” Ferguson said. “I’m a pretty private person so that’s been a little new.”

Since putting Lay Me Down into the public via YouTube, social media, and a few local radio stations, Ferguson said the feedback she’s received from strangers has been exciting.

“To be honest I didn’t expect the reaction that it got,” Ferguson said. “We put it out as a thing that I wanted to be able to say I did. It’s always been on my bucket list. I always wanted to record a song and release it but I didn’t expect it to get picked up the way it has.”

The track was produced by Niverville country recording artist Brady Kenneth at his home studio and was Ferguson’s first true recording experience. She said she has a handful of tracks in the works and will eventually put out an EP.

“We’ve been doing a lot more work in the studio, a lot more writing, and are hoping to release more stuff right after the show,” she said. “Right now we’re taking it a track at a time.”

Ferguson will hit the stage at The Nob (3540 Pembina Hwy.) at 10 p.m. with accompaniment from Mike Falk of Five More Miles.

Cover is free and the show is 18-plus.