ISLA GRANT never had any doubts about would career path she would take.
In fact, she was almost born into the music industry.
The Scottish singer was the daughter of a piper and a singer and the granddaughter of fiddlers.
By the time Grant was eight, she was singing in her church choir then the folk clubs of Glasgow and Edinburgh.
She graduated to the clubs of north-east England where she quickly learned to handle criticism.
About this time her musical taste morphed to country.
She became a regular on the British country music scene, playing clubs and the occasional major event including the Wembley International Festival, where she shared the bill with Johnny Cash. ``But you can only go so far working the club scene,'' Grant said.
``It's a scene where cover songs are the general order of the day, current hit titles and standards.
Once you reach a certain level, there's nowhere else to go.'' She defied the odds by singing original songs and audiences asked for more.
It was during her time on the club scene that she met Al Grant who was heading up his own band.
The pair married in 1992 but tragedy struck when she was involved in a near-fatal car accident which left her struggling to leave her house.
After recovering from a horrific car crash, Grant has returned to writing, recording and performing.
She will return to tour Australia this year and perform at Newcastle Panthers on Friday, August 12.
Tickets cost $40 each and are on sale at the club.
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