Abby Wallace is a Hobart singer-songwriter crafting intimate, indie-pop songs with a folk edge. After time away to focus on parenting, she’s returned to music with two new tracks.

Where did you grow up and where do you live now? I grew up on the north west coast in Wynyard. It was a really beautiful place to be a kid. Now I live in Nipaluna/Hobart.

You’ve been releasing new music and playing live again this year after a long time away. What led to you reignite your music career? I think it was a combination of factors. I have two children and the vortex of early parenthood really swallowed me. Once the kids got a bit older, carving out the space to come back to music felt important. It has been hard and beautiful and worth it.

Tell us a bit about creating your two released tracks, Atlantic Blue and Big Feet, Bigger Shoes. The actual writing of both happened quite quickly. The lead up to writing Big Feet, Bigger Shoes was a lengthy process of developing as a songwriter. I wrote hundreds of songs before I really felt like I had found my voice. Atlantic Blue all happened very quickly in that I wrote it just a few days before heading into the studio, and so the time between the initial idea and the recording was very short.

Who are your biggest inspirations? I draw from a wide range of influences. Some of my most direct inspirations are artists like Tori Amos, Fiona Apple and Samia. Some of my favourite albums are Light, Dark, Light Again by Angie McMahon, Grace by Jeff Buckley, What’s Going On by Marvin Gaye and After Laughter by Paramore. References come in for me mostly indirectly, almost never in exactly how the music sounds. It’s more about musical sensibility, overall artistry and how it all makes me feel.

How has motherhood shaped your life in the creative industry, and the themes of your writing? I think juggling the responsibilities of care-giving with any creative pursuit presents real challenges. A lot of the time mothers are expected to be everything, for everyone, all the time, all at once and there can be little space left for pieces of self to exist. I really believe that a mother is only as vibrant as she is supported. I’m still figuring it all out. My work engages heavily with the concept of self and relationship to others, and my role as a mother definitely relates to that. It presents itself sporadically in many of the songs, but it’s not often the central theme.

What’s next for you? I will have one more single released before the end of 2025. I’m chipping away at a collection of songs too, but exactly what that will look like and when it will be finished still feels very fluid. My goal for the project is to make art I am proud of and to share the music in a way that gives it the best chance of finding its place—wherever that might be.

Who do you admire? My kids. They are beautiful and precious and resilient.

Favourite podcast or tv show? I really loved Normal People.

Secret vice? I’m not sure I have any that are secret!

What are you reading now? Dusk by Robbie Arnott.

Do you have any pets? I have a 10 year old greyhound called Pip. She is the best.

What was your first job? I worked my first two jobs when I was 14, at a newsagency and also as a singing teacher.

What are your daily news/social media habits? I only really use Instagram and Substack.

Your favourite place for…

Breakfast: Madame Clarke’s in Kingston!

Lunch: Bar Wa (ramen, obviously).

Dinner: Grinners for a taco and/or Lucinda for some beef tartare.

Dream holiday destination? Scotland.

Favourite Tasmanian secret? It’s not really a secret, but it is elusive: I’ve never caught The Disappearing Tarn and I would really like to.

Parting words? Yes, I think I’d like to speak directly to any mothers reading this and say that the thing that lights you up, that makes you feel like a person, whatever it is, it matters. How you feel inside matters. You matter.