Candice Casagrande

Candice Casagrande, a singer based in Lismore, NSW, wants to explore the “raw” elements of life through her songs.

Candice Casagrande’s stage presence is so vulnerable that sometimes you forget how serious some of her songs are.

The Lismore-based singer moves onto the stage, clutching a guitar and she’s straight into “Make it a good 1”—the song that gained her international recognition in the prestigious Unisong international songwriting contest in March.

The spotlight highlights her face as her fingers stroke the guitar strings.

Immediately, the combination of the warm voice and the selfeffacing personality makes sense.

Candice’s world and the coastal café scene are like honey and a bee, permeating the intimate space from her corner while delicately observing the coming and goings of people, some smiling, some impassive.

She keeps a diary, of course, and moons over Pete Murray records.

Her music is set apart by an acoustic driven pop/rock sound, with lyrics that speak about what she calls the “real” and “raw” elements of life.

They’re not so much about her as they are about the people around her, and how someone might feel.

But every now and then, something autobiographical chimes in.

"Just a mask”—her new radio song from her debut album New Day—is about a young person going to all extremes to fit in.

Candice says she wrote “Just a mask” because she knows she’s not the only one who has worn one.

"For years in high school, I got into all kinds of dangerous situations just to be friends with certain people and gain their respect,” Candice admits.

"I was a different person at home, completely different at school and at parties, and a whole other person at church.

"I don’t want others to waste time and energy being fake like I did,”

she confides.

So what’s her appeal? It’s the care, the intelligence, the freshness and the subtlety of her approach when all around her, others bluster and cram their wares down your throat.

She’s real.