But music is just one string to the 21-year-olds’ bow.

The Tamworth native is also a supremely talented soccer player, and will soon be headed back to the United States where she is on a scholarship at North Country Community College.

Receiving offers from 23 different colleges, it was Nott’s musical passion that steered her towards North Country, which is located at Saranac Lake in New York.

“They had a bit more music and so that helped me decide,” she said.

“(But) It was tough. There was some really nice offers.”

Nott’s soccer journey started at an early age. 

“I started playing in Kindergarten for school. But I was kicking a ball around before that,” she said, adding that it was probably in around Year 10 that she started to think about pursuing her dreams in the US.

“There are opportunities over there, that there isn’t here,” the former Carinya student said.

The season itself runs for only a few months - from August to October/November.

“It’s a short season but you still play up to 20 games,” Nott said, with two or three games a week.

A taste of life as a professional athlete, leading into the season they train twice a day. Once school goes back to that cuts back to one.

It is “pretty intense”, Nott said with fitness a big focus.

“It’s been a really good experience,” she said.

Both personally and for her soccer development.

The season just gone she was captain of the side, made the Presidents List, the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) all-academies firsts team and the NJCAA Mountain Valley Conference firsts team.

After returning home for Christmas she also learnt she’d been named in the prestigious United Soccer Coaches Junior College Women's Scholar All-America Firsts team.

The team is selected based on academic as well as sporting achievements.

You have to have at least a 3.30 accumulative GPA, start more than 50 per cent of all games and be an elite player as supported by playing honours or contributions to the success of your team. Nott is the first person from the Saints to make the team.

Studying Sports and Events Management, she is due to graduate in May but is hoping to secure another scholarship somewhere.

“Over there they have two year colleges and four year colleges,” she said.

“At the moment I’m talking to coaches at different colleges to transfer over.”

Longer term she said she’d love to play professionally in a premier competition.

She’d also love to pursue something in the music industry, confessing to an “equal” passion for music and soccer.

“They’re two different to compare,” she said.

“(But) I’m always going to love both.”

She got the chance to combine the two last season against Word of Life College.

“We play them twice during the season. The first time it was our home game,” she explained.

Sitting around with the other team at a barbecue after the game, Nott told them she played the banjo.

“They said they had a girl that played guitar,” she said.

“They said next game you should bring your banjo up.”

So she did, and they sat around after the game while the men’s teams were playing and “had a jam”.

“It was really random,” Nott conceded.

She said she doesn’t usually travel with her banjo but will sometimes bring it out to entertain her team-mates.

She also goes to a jam every week.

“There’s a bar called the Shamrock. It’s on a ski mobile trail,” she said.

“That’s a lot of fun.”

“There’s some great pickers that come out.

“There’s a fiddle player that makes maple syrup.”

Also a handy guitar player, Nott said it’s nice to be back for the Country Music Festival after missing out last year.

“I love catching up with everyone,” she said.

“You only really see them for that one week every year.

“And you never really know what you’ll find there.”

Attending the CMAA Academy of Country Music two years ago, Nott spent a bit of time up there this week helping out one of the students.

She doesn’t really have a lot else planned, thinking initially she had to be back earlier, but will probably do some busking down Peel Street.

“There’s a bluegrass get together at Feeling Groovy. That’s happening every morning,” she said.

She might also pop up at the Supper Club shows at North Tamworth Bowling Club.