Vera Blue

Australia’s Celia Pavey, better known as Vera Blue, is a lyrical singer/songwriter who combines her love of folk music with moody electronica. Pavey initially garnered attention after she finished in second place on The Voice Australia in 2013 and released her Top 20 ARIA-charting debut, This Music. Reimagining herself as Vera Blue, she returned with Perennial, which included the double-platinum single “Regular Touch.” Born in 1994 in Forbes, Australia, Pavey grew up listening to classic folk and pop music of the ’60s and ’70s while spending time surrounded by nature in her horticulturalist father’s nursery. By her teens she was a gifted performer who could sing and play guitar and violin. In 2013, she auditioned for and won a spot on The Voice Australia with her emotive rendition of Simon & Garfunkel’s “Scarborough Fair/Canticle.” A fan favorite, she ultimately finished in second place on the talent competition show, after which she released her debut full-length album This Music on Universal. The album was well-received and peaked at number 14 on the ARIA charts. An EP, Bodies, followed a year later. Despite her initial success, Pavey was restless to try something different and incorporate other influences into her sound. After meeting sibling producers Andy and Thom Mak, she began writing new material and experimenting with mixing her folk style with atmospheric beats and electronics. To mark the change in her approach, she adopted the stage name Vera Blue and in 2016 released the EP Fingertips. A year later, she delivered her sophomore full-length album Perennial. Buoyed by the double-platinum single “Regular Touch,” Perennial reached number six on the ARIA Albums Chart. On the heels of her success, Pavey collaborated with Flume on the song “Rushing Back,” which hit number 12 on Billboard’s Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart. She also toured heavily, headlining her own shows as well as supporting both Flume and Maggie Rogers. A concert album, Lady Powers Live at the Forum, arrived in 2018 and was followed by more singles, including 2019′s “All the Pretty Girls” and “The Way That You Love Me.” In 2020, Pavey returned with the Andy and Thom Mak-co-produced song “Lie to Me.” ~ Matt Collar