Tara Tinsley does little else than hold a guitar in her hand and a microphone to her lips. She considers her guitar her best friend and is usually found entertaining coffee-sipping audiences in the Central Valley and Bay Area.

Tinsley, 22, got a taste of a different music scene when she took her pop/folk sound to Japan for a two-week tour during the summer.

She didn’t expect her tour to breathe life back into her music.

Japanese audiences’ were on their feet during each of Tinsley’s five performances, and the crowds’ reaction ignited her music, Tinsley said.

“They were the best shows I’ve ever played,” she said. “Every time I played, I got chills.”

When she arrived in Japan in mid-July, Tinsley was coupled with a bassist and drummer who had practiced her songs and were ready to perform. Tinsley said the band’s first performance made it seem as though the musicians had been playing together for years.

Tinsley’s agent, Sonoko Fawaguchi of DAA, found the two musicians, booked the shows and promoted Tinsley before her arrival.

Tinsley also shot a music video, recorded four songs and was interviewed on two local radio stations and a TV program.

Tinsley returns with stage experience and a sense of musical maturity, but she misses the energy of the Japanese music scene.

“I felt like I grew while I was there,” she said. “I like playing shows no matter where I am. If there’s a stage, I love it.”

Tinsley plans to return to Japan for a three-month tour in spring.

Meanwhile, local fans can hear Tinsley perform with her new guitarist, Dan Quigg, on Sept. 10 at the 2006 Tracy Dry Bean Festival.

• To contact reporter Danielle MacMurchy, call 830-4280 or e-mail danielle@tracypress.com.