Sarah Leete Nothin' Special

Sarah Leete is starting the new year off right with the release of 'Nothin' Special', which follows on from the release of her self-titled EP in 2017.  An avid cactus collector and dog lover, Leete is an artist that Catherine Britt has described as having "strength and grit in her voice and song writing that stands above the rest".

Despite the title, 'Nothin' Special' is anything but. It was beautifully produced by Michael Muchow (Catherine Britt, Melody Moko, Katrina Burgoyne) in The Moon Room, Brisbane, in between QLD border closures last August.

'Nothin' Special' was actually inspired by a creative writing exercise in high school. Says Leete: "I had to write a creative writing piece, and I chose to do a boy meets girl story but it didn't work out, then as the resolve instead of the typical 'and she was better off for it' I decided that they actually went and worked it out. My teacher handed it back to me and told me to re-write the ending. She wanted me to finish the story as 'she was better off without him'. For whatever reason, that has always stuck with me".

The song also comes as a result of some deeply reflective times during the pandemic of 2020. "It is a reflection of where I am at in my life (maturity not circumstance) where I realise there is no 'happily ever after' and real love and most other things in life, require consistent effort", Leete says. "This song is a reflection [on] that it can end either way. You can forget him and be happy or stay together and work it out and be happy. That's the beauty of life I guess, we get to make the choice."

The video for 'Nothin' Special' was shot and produced by Richard Harmey and was filmed around the small rural towns of Kempton and Bothwell in Tasmania. Leete says: "We shot the video while I was there on holidays in January. It has been beautiful and sunny the whole time we had been there, but the day we shot it was freezing! It was a real treat to shoot some of the scenes at the historic Castle Hotel in Bothwell, and my husband even makes his first acting cameo in the last scene! This part of the story is shown in the open and close scenes where I am fed up waiting at the bar and leave, and at the closing scene shows that he turns up too late and I am gone. It also features some of the most beautiful Tasmanian Landscapes!"

A Cole Clark Guitar endorsed musician who graduated from CMAA on full scholarship, Leete has supported many artists including ARIA and Golden Guitar winning Fanny Lumsden, Bill Chambers and the Viper Creek Band. She's also a regular on the festival circuit and has performed at Gympie Music Muster and the Tamworth Country Music Festival.  In conjunction with Hayley Marsten, Leete put together a 'Write Like a Girl' showcase at the Tamworth Country Music Festival, which received record crowds.

With an infectious personality, warmth in her vocals, big hearted songwriting and a quirky sense of humour, Sarah Leete's 'Nothin Special' is not to be missed.