THEY might only be 15-years-old, but Grace Callaghan and Jai Harrison are very much in demand on the local music scene.
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Their ultimate gig would be on stage at the Wingham Akoostik Festival but first things first. This duo has only been together a few months - initially coming together as a musical pairing on the Wingham High School production of "Romeo and Juliet -The Summer of '66".
Doing their own rendition of the Beatle's classic, Let It Be, Grace and Jai were surprised at how good the song sounded. With Jai on the guitar and Grace singing beside him, their sound is something quite special
In the past few weeks their names have been chalked on the events board of local cafe Garden Grub, the Elands Co-Op Store and the Wingham Bowling Club and the duo also appeared at the Rotary International Women's Week breakfast. This event was the largest audience to date, although a paid gig at Flow Cafe in Old Bar made the pair feel like they had truly arrived.
The cafe scene is more than enough right now though as Grace and Jai find their musical feet and welcome the opportunity to showcase their talents. "Our families tell us we are getting better," said Jai. "It's definitely getting easier."
They have a demo tape and a Facebook page but are yet to get as far as cutting a disc but it's a definite 'to do' in the near future.
Grace admits musicals such as the Sound of Music gave her the singing bug as a little girl. It wasn't always so easy for her to get up in front of an audience. "I went through a period of being scared," she said. But despite "going a bit red" occasionally, Grace has no trouble holding a room.
Jai owes his musical genes to his dad's side of the family and got his first guitar at age five.
Grace and Jai are a credit to Wingham High School and music teacher Mrs Harrell who has nurtured this young act.