For nearly four decades, Taste of Chicago has provided attendees a prime opportunity to indulge on the wide spectrum of locally produced food choices. At the same time, it has also provided a chance to get a taste of what lies outside the city’s borders — way outside — when it comes to the festival’s music.

Enter Australian-born singer, songwriter and guitarist Courtney Barnett, one of that country’s fastest-rising musical exports.

After making a name for herself in her home country, Barnett quickly earned an international audience with her debut album, 2015’s “Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit.”

Courtney Barnett With: Sunflower Bean When: 5:30 p.m. July 10 Where: Taste of Chicago, Petrillo Music Shell, Grant Park Tickets: Free lawn; seats $20-$50 Info: tasteofchicago.us

The following year she appeared as the musical guest on “Saturday Night Live” and later earned Grammy and BRIT Award nominations. Not one to slow down, she and Kurt Vile, another popular indie artist, teamed up to release an album of duets in 2017 called “Lotta Sea Lice.”

Barnett released her sophomore album “Tell Me How You Really Feel” last year and followed it up earlier this year with high-energy single “Everybody Here Hates You.” Fans have connected to her observational lyrics and rough-around-the-edges rock sound.

“The stream-of-consciousness approach is exciting because it unleashes a part of your brain that sometimes you don’t know exists,” says Barnett in a recent interview. “It opens up something that you might not be aware of. I find that exciting and scary at the same time. I think it’s a good part of the process.”

She’s enjoyed getting to play around the world, including U.S. cities such as Chicago. It’s given her a chance to see her songs evolve and morph on the road. She’s grateful her songs haven’t stagnated and are still full of life.

“They change over time and grow and transform into something else the more I play them,” says Barnett. “And the more that people listen to them, they project their ideas onto them. That means they’re constantly evolving. So that’s kind of fun. Everything’s morphing into something else.”

That includes “Nameless, Faceless,” a song from “Tell Me How You Really Feel” that takes a stand against domestic violence.

“Every day it seems there’s some story about domestic violence or women being murdered around the world,” she says. “That story comes back to me with a new kind of storyline every day, basically.”

Sonically, Barnett is always looking for a perfect balance between her recordings and live performances. That’s evident on “Everybody Hates You,” which originated during a break in the Tell Me How You Really Feel tour.

“It’s hard to find that balance between the live roar, live sound, with the polished studio sound,” says Barnett. “I’m forever trying to find the balance between the two. I find it’s difficult because engineers have different ideas and mixing people have different ideas. You want it to sound real but also not to hurt your ears with this sound.”

She wrote the song after going to see a friend’s band play one day where she was feeling paranoid and isolated.

“I think that song was born out of that night of just being in a room in a social situation where you have this idea that everybody hates you and doesn’t want to talk to you,” she says. “Just your own insecurities and spending your time thinking about you.”

The song has become a bit of an anthem of empowerment during her recent sets. As for what’s next, she suggests that the songs for her next project might be a bit quieter.

“I feel like making something that’s softer,” she says. “My throat hurts too much when I sing.”

Regardless of approach, she plans to spend plenty of time getting her lyrics perfected.

“I think it’s so important to get the lyrics right,” Barnett says. “I believe music should be in the moment and it should be captured naturally. I don’t mind a bit of imperfection and I don’t mind a bit of vocal imperfection, but I think the words and language serves the performance so, so much. It helps back it all up and tie it together.”

Joshua Miller is a local freelance writer.