PLANETS ALIGN FOR BORN STORY-TELLER KYARNA

The planets have aligned for Illawarra-based First Nations singer Kyarna to perform a key song from her upcoming EP live at the 39th Illawarra Folk Festival.

Kyarna, a proud Yuin woman who grew up at Barrack Heights, co-wrote The Fixer – a poignant song about resilience and hope - with Tasmanian-based musician and producer Matt Fell and Quarralia Knox, granddaughter of Country legend, Roger Knox. 

And by happy coincidence Fell will be at the Illawarra Folk Festival at Bulli Showground on January 16-18, playing bass for Josh Cunningham and Felicity Urquhart’s band. Fell’s commitments with the band don’t clash with Kyarna’s Saturday evening set, so she has asked him to join her on stage to play The Fixer.

“That worked out really well, Matt being at the festival,” Kyarna said. “Matt came up with all the music on The Fixer when we recorded the EP in Armidale in January as part of NATSIMO’s Resonate Country program. I don’t know the chords, so I never play it live!

“When I heard Matt would be playing at Bulli, I contacted him and he said he’d be happy to jump up and play that song with me during my set. I’ll be playing the other five songs from the EP, but The Fixer would have been harder without Matt’s help.”

“It’s a song about being the person in a family that fixes everything … helping to break negative cycles. I think I am one of those people …”

I will never be taken away,

I am here,

I am with you,

I am the Fixer

Kyarna performed at the last Illawarra Folk Festival, impressing the audience at the annual Koori Voices showcase with her powerful vocals and heartfelt songs. It has been a big 12 months since then, culminating in recording the six songs for the EP in an intense five-day stretch at Fell’s studio. The EP was released in full in November, and the songs are available on Kyarna’s website kyarnamusic.com for purchase.

“I loved being involved in the Koori Voices concert last January, and I’m really looking to playing at the festival again,” said Kyarna, who at 34 is “just starting to get serious” about a career in music. 

Kyarna is a trained teacher with a Masters degree in Education. She previously taught at Lake Illawarra High School, but now is a consultant in Indigenous employment, education and engagement.

“Previously I just sort of dabbled in the music … I haven’t really built a presence, but I feel like I am coming into my own now,” she said.

Kyarna credits recording the EP, for which she received funding support from Sound NSW, with helping give her the confidence to explore her passion for music and story-telling.

“I grew up around story-tellers. It’s built in,” she said. “And music is also a big part of our lives and how we connect with other people.”

Kyarna said her early musical influences included traditional female American Country singers like Loretta Lynn and Tammy Wynette, but in recent years she had come to admire more modern Americana singer-songwriters including Emmylou Harris, Lucinda Williams and Gillian Welch.

Last January at Bulli she impressed with her version of Harris’ classic Michelangelo, as well as her original songs.

“I might do Michelangelo again this time … or maybe Boulder to Birmingham ... but you can be sure I’ll be doing an Emmylou song somewhere in my set,” she said.

Kyarna - My Brother's Name (Live from Happy)

See Kyrana plus many more fabulous local and international folk artists at the Illawarra Folk Festival 16th to 18th January at the Bulli Showgrounds.