Enniskillen songstress Clara Tracey is “delighted” and “privileged” to have secured a slot at the Electric Picnic Festival next weekend.

A business developer for Cashel Blue by day and an Edith Piaf inspired singer by night, Clara has recently moved to Dublin following six years “living in a variety of charming Parisian shoe boxes.”

Daughter of Patsy and Carmel Tracey, Clara will perform on the Bandstand Stage in the Body and Soul arena at 7pm this Friday, August 26; 3pm on Saturday; and 2pm on Sunday. She will be joined on stage by her younger sister Emily, who “has a fabulous voice and stage presence and really adds that sisterly quality.” 

Clara describes her sound as “a genre hopping mixture of classical, jazz, trip hop and alt rock.”

Earlier this year, Clara played at the Body and Soul arts and music festival. It is run by a creative collective which has its own stage and village area at the Electric Picnic festival.

“I feel very privileged to have been getting festival slots without having actually released anything,” said Clara, explaining that the gigs came about when the owner of recording studio in Dublin “fell in love” with the song she was recording and insisted that her friend book Clara into the two festivals.
After studying Law with French at Queen’s University Belfast and the Université Jean Moulin in Lyon, Clara veered away from the legal world and represented four Irish food companies in the French and Belgian markets while completing a Masters with the Smurfit Business school as part of the Bord Bia Marketing Fellowship. 

She explained: “I fell into the French art de vivre which is all about working to live and not vice versa.
“Between that and my newfound circle of artistic French friends, the next thing I found myself managing a jazz cafe in the Latin quarter.
“In 2013 life seemed to be flying by too fast and I couldn’t bear the feeling of walking into a room with a piano because there was always a stabbing sense of loss that we were no longer on good terms. So I started practising again like a maniac. I played the Edinburgh Fringe that summer and then started playing in the jazz cafe whereas before I had avoided the stage.”
She has recently returned to Dublin where she “still dons the suit” as a business developer for Cashel Blue, while playing various venues across the city.

Paris and Fermanagh have influenced her music. Clara could not help but be influenced by Paris, “the ultimate playground for songwriting.” She recalled: “There is nothing quite like sitting with a café au lait, a book and a notebook watching the world go by on the terrasse of your favourite café.”

She continued: “Fermanagh is a natural influence in my songs due to the magnificence of the unspoiled countryside and the comforting solace of a place where things seem to stay the same and you can still find your childhood memories in the butcher’s shop or the Broadmeadow.”
Clara is currently in talks with a producer about recording her first album.