THERE’S a common cliché that singer-songwriters are all tortured souls.

That’s not the case with Sarabeth Swagerty, the country singer who plays Stereo tomorrow night.

She’s full of good cheer when it comes to discussing her new EP and a visit to Glasgow that prompted her Twitter and Facebook pages to get swamped with messages.

“We’re incredibly excited about that show,” she adds, speaking with a light Texas twang.

“You can sometimes judge a show by social media activity and so many people have been talking about it there, so that just makes you so much more excited to get there and give everyone a hug.

"If people at the gig want a hug or a high five, then I’m there…”

The Dallas songstress isn’t a strictly traditional country singer - her new, self-titled EP features I’m Sick Of It, a rockier number, while traditional instruments like the fiddle and steel guitar mix with hip hop style loops and pop melodies.

Yet although music has been part of the bubbly singer’s life since she was a youngster, there was nearly a very different career path in store for her. She studied business at university, and was planning a path in real estate.

Then her brother was drafted out of college to play professional baseball for the St Louis Cardinals team, and that prompted Sarabeth to decide she should have a go at following her own dreams too.

Several years later she feels she’s much more confident about herself when recording.

“Every time you go into the studio then you’re more comfortable,” she explains.

“I still love it, and I guess I’m less intimidated, although you get to work with some people who’ve had amazing careers, and that factor never goes away.

"I had a guy named Amos Heller playing bass on the EP, and he’s played bass for Taylor Swift. So that was really cool.

“I co-wrote the EP with Glen Mitchell, and he’s played with everyone and anyone in the country scene, and at places like Madison Square Garden - I’m just humbled that they’d work with me.”

Essex-born guitarist Glen Mitchell has lived in Nashville for around 15 years, and will be joining Sarabeth on her current jaunt.

“Glen’s been a really great teacher,” adds Sarabeth.

“He’s the first person who really sat down with me and taught me how to write a good song - I’m glad he’s a friend and a musical mentor, and he’s been very patient with me when it comes to the guitar, which is nice.”

Getting involved with the music business isn’t just about carrying a tune, of course.

Image plays a part, but one of Sarabeth’s new songs Runnin Outta Lipstick, is about how she likes to hang out in jeans and a baseball cap whenever she can.

“It doesn’t matter what genre you’re in, or whether you’re in LA or Nashville, there’s pressure if you’re in the public eye to look a certain way and be a certain way,” she says.

“But at the end of the day we have to remember who we actually are, and that’s really important.

"You can take pride in your appearance but you don’t have to be a certain size or style, you just need to be you and be healthy.

“There are people who get caught up in it all and how to look, and you just hope they stay grounded as to who they are.”

The songstress is living in Nashville now, though, a place that other country singers, including Justin Townes Earle, often claim is now far too much of a tourist trap.

That’s something Sarabeth disputes.

“I love it - for me, it’s just about knowing where to go,” she explains.

“For me, you can take any city in the world and have that problem - in London you know the Tower of London will always be busy with tourists, so just go to other places.

"The cool thing is that the reason people want to visit Nashville is because of the music.”

While her own music is going in the right direction, she’s had other singing opportunities too, including performing the American national anthem at various sports events.

“Forgetting the words was always a worry,” she laughs.

“That’s one of those songs where everyone there in the stadium knows every word - at one game there was around 70,000 people there, so that was not a time that you wanted to mess up.”

Sarabeth, Stereo, Thursday, £8, 7pm