Courtney Barnett

Born in Sydney in 1987, Courtney Barnett is an Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist based in Melbourne, associated with an indie rock scene that blends folk, garage and intimate songwriting. After starting out in local bands and co-founding the independent label Milk! Records in 2012, she drew attention with the EPs “I’ve Got a Friend Called Emily Ferris” (2012) and “How to Carve a Carrot into a Rose” (2013), which were compiled the same year on “The Double EP: A Sea of Split Peas.” Her debut album, “Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit,” was released in 2015 and established a style built on lyrics that detail everyday situations, a speech-like vocal delivery and clearly melodic guitars. She developed this approach further on “Lotta Sea Lice,” a collaborative album with Kurt Vile in 2017, then on the more rock-tinged “Tell Me How You Really Feel” in 2018, and the more stripped-back “Things Take Time, Take Time” in 2021. On stage, Courtney Barnett typically performs with a tight electric band, balancing indie-rock group energy and a songwriter’s sensibility, regularly appearing at international festivals, intimate clubs and mid-sized venues across Australia, Europe and North America.