When she was 17 years old, Mistin made her first recording in Bangkok, Thailand. Her singles “Out Of My Dreams” and “Legend” garnered national radio exposure. She was off and running.

Songwriting is almost as important to Mistin as performing.

“I wrote all but one song on my last CD,” she says. “I enjoy listening to songwriters perform. Some of my favorites are Garth Brooks, some early Johnny Cash, Tricia Yearwood. They’re all wonderful songwriters. I really like The Dixie Chicks. I don’t know or care anything about their  politics. I just love their music. Alison Krauss is a favorite, too.”

Alan Tomkins, a renowned Australian guitar maker, gets a lot of credit from Mistin for helping her along with her career. He has made about 250 custom guitars and basses in the past 15 years.

“He’s very well‑known and respected there, and has been very helpful and supportive,” Mistin says of Tomkins. “If it weren’t for people like Alan, I don’t know how us younger singers would ever get a foot in the door. He is one of my mentors and a great friend.

“A friend of mine arranged that I borrow one of his guitars during the filming of my debut video clip,” Mistin says. “I now own my own Tomkins, which I call my ‘star guitar.’”

In Australia they even have a country music college. Mistin is a 2006 graduate of the Australian College of Country Music run by the Country Music Association of Australia.

“You learn about the business and production ends of the industry,” Mistin says. “You go to classes from about 9 a.m. to 11 at night for two weeks. They have established performers teaching the classes. They choose 21 students every year. At the end of the school, we got to perform a concert.

“The school is great for someone like me who is an independent artist,” she says. “I’m totally self‑funded with no label support. It covers all aspects of the industry.”

Being an independent performer hasn’t discouraged Mistin from pursuing her dream of making it big in the country music world.

“I enjoy it so far,” the New River native says. “It’s been pretty good. That’s why I’m still doing it. I usually work about three gigs a week.”

And that’s just her night job.

“It’s pretty expensive paying for your own video and CD production,” she says. “It feels pretty good doing it on your own. I work secretarial jobs during the day to help pay for everything. We’re recording an album right now. When we’re finished, we’ll look at an Australian tour and then we’re going to look at trying to come to the States. We’ll do a video before the next tour. The videos help a lot. They let the audience put a face to the name.”

Mistin’s latest single release “Down That Road” has been on the country video charts for three months. The song itself has also enjoyed extended chart position.

“Performing is hard work,” Mistin says. “ People don’t realize when you’re on stage, you can see and hear everything. You can read an audience’s body language. People don’t always like what you’re doing. And if they don’t like what I’m doing, that’s fine too. If I let that get me down, I probably would have quit after my second gig.”

After a visit with family and friends in New River and Phoenix, Mistin headed to Nashville to perform at the Fan Fair Festival, held June 7‑10. Then it’s back home and back to work.

“Country is the most popular live music in Australia,” the 21‑year‑old says. “On the radio, it’s the same music you hear here. The songs are about Australian life and living in the country.

“As far as the future goes, I’ll go where my music takes me,” Mistin says. “I love the United States and Arizona. We have a very big, close family. I won’t rule out coming back to stay. I’ve got so many ideas. Money is not my main objective. If I make some, great. If I don’t, I’m not going give up.”

If you’d like to watch Mistin perform, though, it’s a bit of a road trip. You can catch Mistin’s show every Friday night at the Outback Bar & Grill in Alice Springs, smack dab in the middle of Australia.

If you can’t make that, check out her Web site at mistin.net.